


Faded Memories

by ColoredLion



Category: Sander Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Brotherly Remus and Roman, Emotional Hurt, Feels, Gen, Gets really angsty really fast because past me had no sense of patience or exposition, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Im sorry for that, Internal homophobia, Memory Loss, Mind Control, Minor Injuries, Poor Thomas, Prompt is by cattonsanders, Protective Roman, Thomas do be vibing tho, Uhhhh not very frequent updates, anxiety has anxiety, based off of a tumblr prompt, deceit is extra evil, first fanfic, he’s a little abusive in this, im trying, logan is Logic for a reason, mentions of abuse, minor blood, not accurate science mumbo jumbo, patton’s A+ parenting, roman is concerned, small blood warning, small spaces, the first 6 chapters have bad quality because they are like a year old, uh oh is that a sad Patton I see?, virgil is confusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2020-04-07 09:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 26,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19081987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColoredLion/pseuds/ColoredLion
Summary: One day Virgil wakes up to find all of his memories leading up to his redemption gone. He thinks the others are playing a cruel joke, but really they are all scared and confused. Who took Virgil’s memories, and how will the others get him back?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction and the first six or seven chapters were written a while ago so ignore the bad quality. I’m too lazy to rewrite them :,)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

Virgil sat on the corner of his bed. His hood fell over his head, and he lay collapsed on the covers. Headphones draped down his body to his pocket where his phone lay, playing music.

He had been on edge this past week. Ever since Deceit had shown up. Virgil didn’t think that Deceit would actually do that. Actually form in the physical realm. He felt his hands clench, then took a deep breath. ‘Stop getting worked up over it. Deceit can’t do anything too bad. As long as the others are with me, Thomas will be fine.’ He still couldn’t keep the nagging thought away.

He heard a knock downstairs, and took off his headphones. Virgil swept down the stairs, anxiety swelling up. His thoughts left him troubled. ‘No. Deceit wouldn’t come into my room.’ He took the cold knob in his hand and turned it.

“Hey kiddo!” Relief washed through Virgil as he saw the happy Dad figure. 

“Hey Patt,” Virgil responded. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check up on you!” Patton said, taking a step inside. “You’ve seemed off for the past few days. Wanna talk about what’s bothering you?”

“It’s nothing...” Virgil sighed. “It’s just Deceit kinda through me off a bit.” He saw Patton frown, as he remembered that Deceit had pretended to be him. 

“Well, you can talk to me anytime.” Virgil saw him pull out something behind his back. “I know you don’t like talking though.... So, I baked some cookies!” Patton slipped the plate of cookies into Virgil’s hands. “I should probably get going now. Roman wanted to watch a Disney movie with me!”

“Right,” Virgil said, stepping aside so that Patton could leave. “Thanks, Patt...”

Patton was into the hallway now, but he stopped and turned around with a grin. “Anytime kiddo.”

Virgil closed the door and took the cookies up to his bed. ‘See? The others are hear just in case anything goes wrong. You have nothing to worry about.’ He thought as he flopped down. 

Virgil sighed and picked up a cookie. He felt a grin tug at his lips as he took a bite. Still warm. The chocolate melted in his mouth. The cookie was crisp but not too hard. Soft on the inside, but it didn’t crumble when he bit into it. 

Virgil closed his eyes, laying back. The silence in the room filled him with peace. He drifted off to sleep, hoping that he’d feel better in the morning. ‘Everything’s gonna be okay.’


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Virgil arose, his smug grin fell and turned to a grimace. Why were the other looking at him like that? They were shocked? Roman looked a little disappointed to be honest.
> 
> “You, uh-“ Roman started. “You changed your outfit back to your old one.”
> 
> “Wh-“ Virgil glared at the side.
> 
> “That’s alright! We said you could change it back if you didn’t like it!” Patton cut in with a grin on his face, side eyeing Princey as if saying, ‘Just go along with it.’

Virgil fluttered open his eyes. He winced as pain flared just above his right eye. He stretched his arm over his face, groaning. ‘Headaches... are the worst.’ He grumbled in his thoughts.

After a few minutes of waiting for it to go down, he pulled himself up. His eyes drooped, and he yawned widely. 

Looking up at the mirror in front of him, he jumped. What.... was he wearing? ‘Probably just sleep-summoned.’ He thought as he stared at the purple patched hoodie. He had to admit that he liked it, but the others would judge him. ‘When did Thomas get purple hair?’ He grumbled to himself as well. 

He furrowed his brow. He didn’t remember. It was as if something was locked away. The feeling you get when something is on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t place it. 

Virgil swept a hand through his hair to comb it, then got up and summoned his comfortable black hoodie. As he was walking down the stairs on his room, he felt a tugging sensation. ‘Since when do I get called?’ He thought, a little shocked. Thomas never called for him. Virgil always showed up to annoy everyone on his own account.

Nevertheless, he answered the call. Of course, he made sure to put that smug grin on his face before going up. It always seemed to annoy everyone, especially Princey.

When Virgil arose, his smug grin fell and turned to a grimace. Why were the other looking at him like that? They were shocked? Roman looked a little disappointed to be honest.

“You, uh-“ Roman started. “You changed your outfit back to your old one.”

“Wh-“ Virgil glared at the side.

“That’s alright! We said you could change it back if you didn’t like it!” Patton cut in with a grin on his face, side eyeing Princey as if saying, ‘Just go along with it.’

Confusion bubbled in Virgil’s stomach. Why? Wait... they were ALL wearing new outfits... He tried to think back, but something was missing. They were all just doing this to mess with him, weren’t they?

“I don’t think the outfit is the biggest problem in the world,” Logan stated bluntly. “We called you up, Virgil-“

“H-how do you know my name?” Virgil felt his face burn under the stares of the others. He would NEVER tell them his name. How did they find out? Frustration and anger being clinging itself onto him.

“Well, Hot Topic,” Roman started with a grin, but you could easily see the confusion glittered his brown eyes. “You told us your name...”

The others looked at him expectantly. There gazes bore onto him. Why? Why were they treating him like their friend? They hated him. Especially Princey! 

“I don’t know joke you all are playing,” Virgil hissed. “But it’s getting on my nerves.”

He almost flinched at the hurt in Patton’s eyes. Roman just stared in shock. Logan has his brow furrowed. His thinking face. And of course Thomas. He was just darting his eyes around to the others. 

“I’m leaving...” Virgil grumbled, sinking down before anyone could say anything else. His anger made the room turn silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! :)


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What- happened?” Thomas asked slowly, trying to pick his words carefully. Roman almost jumped at the noise.
> 
> Logan furrowed his brow, clearing his throat. “It seems that Virgil has lost his memory somehow..”

The sides staired at the empty staircase. A suffocating silence stilled the room, leaving all the sides in shock. Roman was barely thinking, he was just staring.

“What- happened?” Thomas asked slowly, trying to pick his words carefully. Roman almost jumped at the noise.

Logan furrowed his brow, clearing his throat. “It seems that Virgil has lost his memory somehow..”

“Lost his memory?!” Patton exclaimed, staring at the others desperately. “You can’t really mean that!”

“It is a uh-“ Logan paused. “-strange circumstance. I don’t understand how he could’ve lost his memory, or why he only lost a bit of it. It seems he remembers who we are, and he remembers who HE is, but... it seems he doesn’t remember that we were getting along.”

“But... how?” Thomas asked. 

“Well, there are several ways someone can lose memory. Medications, head injuries, emotional disorders.... those are the most likely. Emotional disorders could be one because that is caused FROM anxiety. But, Virgil had never had problems like that before,” Logan pushed his glasses up. “He didn’t seem to have a head injury. I don’t even know how he would’ve gotten medications, or WHY he would’ve taken the specific ones that DO make you lose your memory. It’s- it’s just all illogical...”

Everyone was silent for a moment. Roman still hadn’t exactly registered what Logan was saying. All he heard was Virgil’s accusations in his head. Did HE make Virgil like this? Had he always been rude to Virgil, even without realizing it? His heart felt cold. He felt something new grip its hands around him. Guilt.

“W-we have to do something!” Patton exclaimed. 

“I-I don’t know-“ Logan said, his eyes flashed with panic. “I don’t know what to do.” He sunk out. 

Roman started at the floor, feeling numb.

Patton was on the verge of tears. He sunk out before Thomas could object.

“R-Roman?” Thomas asked, noticing that the side hadn’t spoke the whole time, and was still staring at the floor. 

“I’m going to check on him,” Roman said, looking up for the first time. He didn’t even attempt to hide his guilt. “Everything will turn out alright. Just, try to calm yourself down.” 

Thomas nodded, and Roman sunk down into the Mindscape.

Roman took a deep breath, and headed down the hallway. He passed Logan’s room, only to hear furious typing on a keyboard. He passed Patton’s room, hearing nothing. He passed the empty Commons. It was too quiet.

Roman finally reached the door to Virgil’s room. He couldn’t see a light on from under the crack, and it suddenly felt colder. ‘What will I say?’ He didn’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry?’ He sighed, and combed a hand through is hair nervously. ‘It’ll be alright. You’re Prince Roman! You can solve anything!’ 

Roman pulled out his shaky hand that had been at his side, and rested it on the door handle. He twisted the knob, and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! :)


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “D-Deceit!” Virgil exclaimed, his anger quickly leaving him. “How long have you been here?”

Virgil appeared in his room, quietly fuming. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a familiar figure. 

Green scales crept along the side of Deceit’s face, and he had one bright, slitted, yellow eye. Dark black eyeshadow appeared under his eyes.

“D-Deceit!” Virgil exclaimed, his anger quickly leaving him. “How long have you been here? You don’t look good.”

“I’m fine,” Deceit lied, taking a step towards Virgil. He noticed that he was messing with his gloves anxiously. “I saw what the others were doing to you. How rude of them. Must’ve made you mad.”

“Yeah...” Virgil grumbled. “I just don’t know how they knew my name...”

“I have no clue how,” Deceit said. Virgil raised a brow, knowing that Deceit lied about almost everything. “I am truly being honest. You know how your room makes me... anxious.... about lying.”

“I guess...” Virgil said, messing with the hem of his jacket. “Why are you here anyways?”

“Well, after seeing how much the others annoyed you, I think I should send in a different Dark Side. You don’t have to talk to the others again. We’ll make up some other plan,” Deceit strolled towards Virgil, looking him in the eyes. 

“Well-“ Virgil started, biting his lip.

Deceit let out a long sigh. “Don’t tell me you STILL want to hang out with them. You know that they hate you. So WHY is it so difficult to make you see that?” Virgil took a step back at Deceit’s soft outburst.

“Patton isn’t so bad...” Virgil said as a weak excuse.

“Patton just doesn’t want to make you feel bad. He knows about emotions, and he knows that if he upsets you, then it will affect Thomas. You don’t think he REALLY cares, do you?” Deceit stopped closer to Virgil, towering over him despite them being the side size. “I’m doing this because I care about you, Anxiety. I don’t want you to duck out because those ‘light sides’ don’t like you. They never will like you. They’ll always see you as a Dark Side.”

“B-but-“ Virgil took a couple more steps back, until he was up against the wall.

“Anxiety! When can you get this through your thick skull? They HATE you. Nothing you do will change it. Stop wanting to go back up. Did you see how the treated you today?” Deceit stepped closer towards the cornered side. “You mean NOTHING to them! So listen to me. I’ll send in another Dark Side, and you will STAY here!”

Virgil cringed at Deceit’s sharp voice. Virgil tried to make himself smaller, but Deceit had him backed up all the way. When he moved his hand to shuffle out of the way, Deceit sent out a cold glove and gripped his wrist, bringing Virgil up to face him.

“You got that?” Deceit hissed. Virgil’s heart felt cold. Wind rushed behind his ears, and his breathing hitched in panic. He let out a small whimper.

Suddenly, a light shone through the room as the door swung open. Both Virgil and Deceit twisted their heads to see a side standing in the doorway.

Roman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh n o


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh my stars! Virgil!” Roman exclaimed, staring at him with concern and panic written all over his face. “Are you okay? What did Deceit do?”
> 
> Virgil didn’t respond. His gaze darkened, and he refused to meet Roman’s eyes. “Get out.”

Roman stared in shock to see Deceit holding Virgil up, his hand clutching his wrist. Deceit growled one last thing to Virgil before sinking out.

Roman rushed towards Virgil, his heart thumping in his chest. He noticed the anxious side breathing in small, fast breaths.

“Oh my stars! Virgil!” Roman exclaimed, staring at him with concern and panic written all over his face. “Are you okay? What did Deceit do?”

Virgil didn’t respond. His gaze darkened, and he refused to meet Roman’s eyes. “Get out.”

“Virgil?” Roman flinched back, then narrowed his eyes. “Tell me what Deceit did.”

“I said,” Virgil rose abruptly, curling his hand into a fist. “GET OUT!” 

Pain suddenly flared up the side of Roman’s jaw and he fell to the ground. His lip went numb from pain. Virgil stood up, panting, staring down at the creative side with his eyes narrowed. 

Roman looked up at Virgil in fear. His eyes widened. He cautiously touched his face, as if not comprehending that Virgil had really done that. He drew his hand away, and took in a sharp breath as it came away with some blood. His cheek was red, and the bottom of his lip was cut and bleeding.

Virgil stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away. Roman stumbled up and sprinted out the door as fast as he possibly could.

The prince didn’t even know where he was running. He just ran.

Roman finally stopped for breath, his face aching. He looked up to see the white Mindscape around him. This is where the sides created dreams for Thomas. This is where Roman went every night.

Roman conjured a bench, and sat down, staring into his hands. Virgil had hurt him. Virgil had PUNCHED him.

Roman didn’t realize he was crying until a drop of water fell onto his palm. He laid his head back and wiped his eyes, flinching as he pressed his hand into his cheek. The hurt side conjured an ice pack, and rested it lightly on the side of his face. 

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. 

‘Deceit.’ It was the only explanation that made sense. Deceit had gone to Virgil and said something to him. ‘What did he say to make him that upset?’ He felt in hand forming in fist. He was a prince! He shouldn’t be acting like this. ‘I need the others.’

Roman stood up, waving his hand to make the bench and ice pack disappear. He readjusted his bright red sash, and narrowed his eyes in determination.

He was going to fix it. Even if it was the last thing he’d do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go, Roman! Go! :D


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The room suddenly felt hot. Like he was in a crowded place with hundreds of people staring at him. He put a hand on the wall, his breath hitching in panic. 
> 
> ‘Breath.’

Virgil turned, flinching as the door slammed shut. He took his hand out of his pocket, shaking it slightly. 

It hurt.

But, that probably wasn’t the only reason why he felt hurt.

He had punched Roman. 

He hurt another side.

Virgil sighed, facepalming. ‘Why did I do that?’ He didn’t need to punch Roman. He honestly didn’t even realize that he was punching him. He was just scared. Scared and confused. 

Though, Virgil didn’t know who he was scared of. Himself. The others.... Or Deceit.

The room suddenly felt hot. Like he was in a crowded place with hundreds of people staring at him. He put a hand on the wall, his breath hitching in panic. 

‘Breath.’

Virgil tried. It wasn’t working. The walls of his room seemed to be closing in. His limbs felt weak. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide away forever. 

‘In for four.’

‘Hold for seven.’

‘Out for eight.’

Virgil repeated the exercise, lowering himself to the floor, with his eyes shut tight. His chest loosened. He was okay. He was alright.

‘I’m being an idiot about this.’ Virgil thought to himself with a sigh. ‘Well, maybe not.’ He added. He had lost his memory. He HAD to. He knew that there was something missing. 

To be honest, he just wanted to talk to someone. Deceit was gone. Wait...

Virgil immediately scolded himself after the thought. Deceit would be mad at him if he did. Why would Patton even care? 

But there was one part of him that yearned for the fatherly figure. The only one that had ever been kind to him. Maybe. Just maybe... 

Virgil stood up, and took a step towards the door. 

He made up his mind. He was going to see Patton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Virgil, go have a talk with your father :)


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman set his ear against the door, straining to listen for anything. He heard furious typing on a keyboard and the occasional pauses where he heard a pencil scratching on paper. Logan was definitely in there. Roman took a breath and opened the door.

It didn’t take long before Roman was standing in front of Logan’s door. He ignored the small ache in his face, and the specks of crusted blood on the cut that he gained on his lower lip. He raised his fist and knocked.

Nothing.

Was Logan there?

Roman set his ear against the door, straining to listen for anything. He heard furious typing on a keyboard and the occasional pauses where he heard a pencil scratching on paper. Logan was definitely in there. Roman took a breath and opened the door.

The first thing he saw was Logan sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop. A notepad lay next to him with a pencil lying on top. He noticed Logan’s glasses askew on the ridge of his nose, his brows furrowed in concentration. 

Roman strutted forward and put his hand on the side’s shoulder to let him know his presence in the room. Logan jerked up, nearly falling off his chair. But, Roman reached down and caught him before he fell.

“Woah there nerd,” Roman said, clearly amused despite the situation. 

Logan straightened himself out, adjusting his blue tie and shiny, black glasses. “Why are you here, Roman?”

“I-“

“What happened to your face?” Logan exclaimed in a rush, noticing Roman’s cut lip. “It looks terrible.”

“Wow, thanks,” Roman grumbled, then dropping to a low voice. “I-it was Virgil...”

“Virgil?” Logan said in shock, then taking a moment to process what Roman said. “You mean you ran into Virgil?”

“I kinda went to his room,” Roman bit his lip, but immediately recoiled at the small spike of pain.

“Why?” Logan asked. “You never went to his room before he told us his name.”

“What?” Roman was confused at the statement at first, then shook his head. “Yeah, BEFORE.”

“Did you not hear what I said after Virgil had sunk out? He lost his memory,” Logan explained, grabbing his notebook off the table.

“I thought he was just getting back at me for something I did...” Roman mumbled, lowering his gaze. To his disappointment, Logan did nothing to comfort the side, but instead continued with what he was saying.

“Of course not, Roman. You see, I’ve been doing some research, and though, I haven’t gotten to a clear conclusion to this problem, I have an idea-“

“Deceit was there,” Roman said, lifting his gaze to meet Logan’s. “He said something to Virgil. When I walked in, he was holding Virgil up by his wrist!”

Roman watched as Logan glanced at his notes. The logical side swept his hand through his hair. “I have to rethink possibilities....”

Logan turned towards the computer, but Roman caught him by the shoulder. “That’s it? You’re just gonna, ‘rethink possibilities’? We need to do something, NOW!”

“This isn’t like a story book, Roman! We aren’t going to charge into Virgil’s room with swords. We need to stay low, research things that could help, make a plan, THEN go help Virgil!” Logan said, his eyes narrowed with anger and frustration. 

“But who knows what Deceit has done! He could be back in Virgil’s room right now!” Roman exclaimed.

“I know!” Logan roared back.

“Then lets go!” Roman grabbed Logan by the hand and tried to drag him towards the door, but the side wouldn’t budge. “When someone is in danger you save them. Do you even CARE about Virgil?”

“Of course I do!” Logan yelled, his voice breaking. “I can feel too! I’m not just a robot!” Roman whirled around to face Logan. He stared in shock to see him breaking down. Crying. 

Logan buried his face in his hands, shaking. Roman gulped, walking over to the side and carefully wrapping his arms around Logan. “I’m sorry for yelling. I know that you care. I’m just scared. Just really scared.”

The two stood there for a moment. Roman had his arms wrapped tightly around Logan, while he just buried his face in the prince’s shoulder.

Finally, Logan broke away, wiping his eyes. He looked embarrassed. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was stupid. I guess I’m scared too.”

“It’s okay too tell us how you’re feeling, Logan.” Roman said with a soft smile. “Remember, we work well as a team.”

“Yeah,” Logan let out one of the smallest grins, but that was enough for Roman. A few moments later, Logan added. “I think I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish old me had held back that Logan outburst, and put it in later for more angst, but what can ya do?


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He closed his eyes and took a quiet, but deep breath. It wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was knock on the door. Yet, it seemed like so much more than that.

Every creak in the floor. Every breath. Every movement felt loud as Virgil crept down the hallway. He didn’t want to be found by the others.

Virgil bit his lip, letting his slightly purple bangs fall over his eyes as he reached the door to Patton’s room. This was it. He tried to move his shaky hand out of his pocket to knock, but it wouldn’t come out.

He closed his eyes and took a quiet, but deep breath. It wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was knock on the door. Yet, it seemed like so much more than that.

Virgil was confused and nervous and terrified. Why was he doing this again? He just wanted something to latch onto. Some type of safe area.

‘He doesn’t care.’

The thought was nagging him along the whole walk to the room. Like a bug that kept flying around your head, and when you tried to swat it away, it easily dodged and came back. He could even feel the tingling sensation of a bug crawling on his arm at the moment and he swatted a hand at it before realizing it was just his imagination.

Virgil sighed. 

‘Get a hold of yourself.’ 

‘But what about what Deceit said?’

‘He lies, remember?’

Virgil was tired of this ongoing war inside his head. Trying to figure out one of the most simplest decisions. ‘Just knock.’

The anxious side found his thumb and index finger pinching the fabric of his gray jacket. Rubbing it between his fingers as if that would get rid of the nervous energy. 

Virgil took his hand off his jacket, then giving both hands a little shake. He could do this. Why did this simple task have to be such a challenge for him?

He knocked.

It was a soft knock, yet it sounded like it echoed around the entire Mindscape. He immediately felt small and stupid. He should’ve listened to Deceit. He should’ve just stayed away from the others and stayed in his room. Now he was stuck, with no where to go unless he could sprint as fast as a sports car, which was obviously impossible. A million possibilities of how bad this could turn out blasted through his mind.

The door swung open.

“V-Virgil?!” Oh gosh, Patton looked terrible. An emotional mess. His hair looked like an overused mop, while his eyes were a raw red as if he’d been crying. Yet, his smile was bright, and Virgil couldn’t tell whether it was fake or not. 

Before he knew it, he was wrapped in a tight hug, which he quickly squeezed out of the grasp. It was.... uncomfortable. Weird. No side had ever hugged him before. And maybe he wouldn’t have minded in a different circumstance. But right now, he was a mess, and the hug was quite a surprise.

“S-sorry kiddo,” Patton frowned, disappointment sparked his gaze, making Virgil himself wince with guilt. “Here, come on in.”

He shuffled quite awkwardly into the room, which immediately raised his anxiety. His emotions always seemed boosted in Patton’s room, but then again, when had he been to Patton’s room. He wanted to remember. Why couldn’t he just remember?

Currently the room was Thomas’ bedroom, besides the fact that it had many old memories stuffed on the bed in the form of old stuffed animals to photo albums. It was a terrible mess, no organization of any form.

Patton shoved stuffed animals off the bed and onto the floor, taking a seat cross-legged. He patted the spot beside him, and Virgil hesitantly walked over and sat down.

“Are you okay, Vir-uh... Anxiety?” That was the first thing Patton said, and one of the most surprising. Why would he want to know? Who even cared about how he felt. He was stuck in his own thoughts that he almost forgot to respond.

“I-“ Virgil thought for a moment. God, he was most defiantly NOT okay. Everything was wrong. He didn’t know where to start. How to start? There were too little words to explain how he was feeling. “I’m just really.... confused? I don’t know. Everything has felt really rushed. One moment I’m going on with the day, then the next I realize I’ve lost my memory....”

“So you know?” Patton bit his lip. “I’m confused too. How did it happen?” He didn’t even wait for Virgil to reply before sighing. “Of course you don’t know.”

A few moments were filled with just silence.

“Why’d you come here?” Patton finally asked, looking at Virgil.

“I don’t know. You’ve just always been the nicest to me from what I remember. I just didn’t want to be alone,” Virgil said, fiddling with the hem of his jacket.

“Well, I’m glad you come to talk to me. M-maybe we can find out how to fix this!” Patton exclaimed, determination glittering in his gaze. 

“Can you fix memory loss?” Virgil asked doubtfully.

“Uhh, I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Logan about that one,” Patton replied. Virgil immediately seemed to shrink at the thought of talking to the others. It would be too tense, especially after he had punched Roman.

Patton seemed to sense Virgil’s thoughts. “Unless you don’t want to. I mean-“ he sighed. “I don’t really know how else we can fix this if we don’t.”

“What if we can’t?” Virgil asked, fear creeping into his voice. All of what he really felt in that one sentence. “What if we can’t fix my memory and I’ll be stuck without a piece of some of the most important moments of my life?”

Virgil felt his panic rising. ‘Not now,’ he thought. But, it was too late. He felt tears pricking over the edges of his eyes, and he felt himself drowning in a sea of his own fears.

Virgil jumped as two hand placed a firm grip on his shoulders. He looked up to see Patton in front of him, staring down with concerned yet determined eyes.

“Virgil, look at me,” Patton instructed, making Virgil focus more on his voice. “Everything will turn out okay. I promise. And, even if we don’t recover your memories, you seem willing enough to become friends with us all over again. And we will definitely make the correct choices this time.”

Virgil felt himself curling up closer to Patton, as if he were the life boat in the waves, coming to save him.

“I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my father and son duo uwu
> 
> Next chapter is the start of my new writing, so the style might be altered slightly!


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prince did admire his determination, not allowing anything to get in the way. They still had their differences, but maybe calculator watch wasn’t all bad. It’s not like he didn’t throw away that fact of Logan ever having emotion, he had seen it, despite Logan denying every time.

Roman sat next to Logan on the bed, fiddling with the hem of the blanket as he watched Logan work. The plan... wasn’t immediate like he had hoped. Of course it wasn’t. But it had to be done.

Roman watched Logan typing furiously on his laptop, creating the steps to the plan, doing the research. It had been strange to see Logan break down like that. One second fine, another crying, and now right back to work.

The prince did admire his determination, not allowing anything to get in the way. They still had their differences, but maybe calculator watch wasn’t all bad. It’s not like he didn’t throw away that fact of Logan ever having emotion, he had seen it, despite Logan denying every time. 

Roman sighed, feeling guilty at his actions toward Logan. He had been too brash, like always. And the nerd was right, if he came charging into Virgil’s room, nothing would get done.

“So,” Roman jumped slightly at Logan’s sudden voice. “I got all the facts of memory loss written here,” he scrolled up on the document he was typing on. “But, now that Deceit is added to the equation, we have to hypothesize why he would possibly want to do anything to Virgil.”

“They.... did seem to have a history when Deceit came,” Roman replied slowly, thinking back to the sides’ last encounter with Deceit. 

“But, Deceit isn’t stupid. Despite his—nature—all the sides were made to protect Thomas. He is here for a reason, and I don’t think he would want to risk Virgil incapacitating Thomas,” Logan argued, furrowing his brow in thought. “From what we’ve seen, Virgil’s memories of our friendship has seemed to vanish, leaving him at the same stage that had us arguing all the time. He has no reason to trust us, and probably all the more reason to trust Deceit.”

Roman froze, pursing his lips as he processed the information Logan had spouted. He let out a frustrated sigh and Logan continued. 

“Maybe that’s Deceit’s plan. Virgil seemed to hate Deceit when he appeared, which leads to the theory that they had some kind of falling out. Maybe Deceit wanted Virgil to trust him again, to have some sense of security so that he felt more in control,” Logan continued, and Roman quickly intercepted with his own argument.

“But when I walked into Virgil’s room, Deceit was hurting him, had him backed into a corner. Deceit obviously wasn’t trying to be nice to Virgil,” The creative side frowned, unconsciously touching his bruised cheek, flinching when he pressed too hard.

“Maybe he wanted to have more power. Deceit and... the others have been pushed to the very edge of the Mind Palace. They might have a plan to regain more control over Thomas’ thoughts and mind.” Logan crossed his arms, eyes darting across his notes on the laptop.

“Then we have to stop them!” Roman stood up with a determined grin, summoning his beloved sword out of nowhere. 

“Roman,” Logan stood as well, fixing his glasses and putting a hand on Roman’s arm to lower the sword. “Remember what I said about this not being a storybook?”

The creative side seemed to deflate, and he let out a sigh, a stone making itself comfortable in his stomach. “Yes, but we have to do something.” Roman groaned, putting his sword away, and falling back onto the bad, burying his face in his hands. 

“Roman,” Logan paused, as if calculating the best was to respond. “I know that we haven’t ever really gotten along. Logic and fantasy are always clashing. But, you have to understand that we both have the same goal, and some ways of getting to that goal are better than others.”

Roman frowned at his words, bitterness rising in him. Logan took immediate notice and quickly backtracked. 

“Alright, a compromise will have to do,” Logan stated. “We shall go to Virgil’s room and hopefully get him to answer some questions,” Roman felt a grin growing on his face. “But please, please don’t do anything stupid. Let me do the talking. We don’t want to overcrowd him and scare him away. No teasing. He won’t take it well in his condition,” The logical side said pointedly.

“Thank you, Logan,” Roman said with a surprisingly soft and grateful voice. He was happy that he and Logan definitely seemed to be making progress. And, having him accept some of his ideas made him happier than it should’ve. “Now lets go save that emo nightmare!”

“That—that is exactly what we don’t want,” Logan said flatly, but Roman only grinned, standing up again and thrusting a hand out toward Logan.

Glasses stared at it blankly.

“C’mon, grab it!” Roman nagged. “Team work makes the dream work, even if it starts with a small lift!”

Logan sighed deeply. “You are insufferable,” and nevertheless grabbed the hand, allowing Roman to pull him up. Roman had to hold back the little cheer as he saw the infinitesimal grin on Logan’s face.

Logan brushed past Roman, leading the way out of the room, in which he followed with a determined gaze.

Before the creative side knew it, they were standing in front of Virgil’s door, an anxious energy seemed to brush past him in waves. He frowned, remembering his last time in the room. The memory of Deceit’s hand clasped painfully around Virgil’s wrist left a bitter taste in his mouth and a twinge of pain on his bruised cheek. His mouth set in a determined line, glancing Logan’s way before knocking.

Roman tensed, waiting for the door to swing open revealing Virgil’s furious face, or Deceit’s evil smirk. But nothing happened.

In the corner of his eye he saw Logan frown, so he quickly knocked again. “Anxiety?” He called out, a churning growing in his stomach. 

It was still silent. 

Roman finally shook his head, ignoring Logan’s quick protests before twisting the knob and swinging the door open himself. He summoned his sword, unconsciously moving to stand in front of Logan. His whole body tensed, preparing for some gruesome scene.

Nothing.

Roman was frozen, fear coursing it’s way through his veins. He was suddenly knocked aside as Logan swept passed him. And he let out an indignant squawk, quickly moving to at least walk besides Logan, keeping his sword in front of him.

The room was full of dark corners and the usual cobwebs, that, Nightmare Before Christmas poster. His anxiety immediately boosted, and he tried to ignore the frazzled feeling that grew inside him. 

Empty. 

“Do you think...” Logan started but drifted off, his eyes turning hard. Roman felt dread build in his stomach. 

“Deceit doesn’t have him, right?” Roman managed to get out. Was he too late? Please don’t let him be too late.

“He might,” Roman’s heart skipped a beat. “But!” Logan quickly added. “We should check Patton’s room. They were always closer. Virgil might’ve gone there.”

“Right,” Roman nodded, quickly making his way out of the room, nearly running towards Patton’s door. He heard the footfalls of Logan behind him.

Roman knocked furiously against the door, so hard it hurt, turning his knuckles red. “Patton!” 

“Just a minute!” A little shuffling was heard from the other side of the door, a loud thump and a quick succession of steps getting closer. The door opened, revealing Patton’s red-rimmed eyes, his hair ruffled. “Yeah, kiddos?”

“Have you seen Anxiety?” Logan immediately asked, his tie slightly askew. 

“No, why would I have seen him?” Patton asked, biting his lip.

“He’s not in his room,” Roman cut in loudly.

“Well he’s not here,” The fatherly-side frowned, eyes darting between him and Logan.

“He’s gone,” Logan whispered, and Roman felt his heart stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, one more chapter after this before the updates will stagger more! 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed! :)


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Patton!” Virgil’s eyes widened at the sound of Roman’s voice through the door. Oh god, he couldn’t face him. He couldn’t face Roman after punching him in the face. Years of taunting and being constantly put down faced him if he opened that door.

Virgil didn’t know how long he was in Patton’s room for. There seemed to be no time when he was surrounded by the warm and safe embrace that the dad side brought. It was the first time in a long time where Virgil felt completely and utterly calm, protected, grounded. And, to Patton, it didn’t seem to matter how long the hug lasted.

Just as Virgil let out a content sigh, opening his mouth to speak, a knock rang loudly across the room. He immediately tensed, anxiety flooding through his entire body. He felt Patton hug him tighter, hands clenching protectively on his black jacket, and for a second, warmth seemed to bloom in the pits of his despair.

“Patton!” Virgil’s eyes widened at the sound of Roman’s voice through the door. Oh god, he couldn’t face him. He couldn’t face Roman after punching him in the face. Years of taunting and being constantly put down faced him if he opened that door. 

“Just a minute!” Patton yelled back, and Virgil yanked himself out of his embrace, eyes wild. He gripped Patton’s arm in a moment of desperation, breaths already quickening.

“Please, please don’t make me face him Patton. I-i can’t do it, not after—“ Virgil cut himself off, fear flashing in his eyes. He saw Patton’s eyes soften, and felt him grab his arms, putting them back at his sides.

“Just breathe, kiddo,” Patton whispered softly, bringing Virgil’s hand up to his heart. “Follow the beat,” The steady thumping beneath his fingers calmed his racing heart, but a small thread of anxiety still lingered deep in his bones. “Here,” Patton pulled Virgil up to his feet, bringing him over to the closet. “Just, hide in here, okay?”

“But-“

“Virgil,” Patton squeezed his hand reassuringly. “You have to trust me here, kiddo,” Virgil hesitated, searching those brown eyes, then slowly nodded, walking into the closet and closing the door.

The anxious side heard Patton walk quickly to the door, creaking it open. “Yeah kiddos?” His voice was muffled through the closet door.

“Have you seen Anxiety?” Though the voice was muffled and slightly shaky, Virgil could tell that it was Logan.

“No, why would I have seen him?” Patton asked innocently. Virgil bit his lip, guilt churning around his gut, hating that Patton would lie for him so easily.

“He’s not in his room,” Roman cut in loudly, causing Virgil to flinch. He frowned, wondering why Roman sounded so flustered. He couldn’t care? Could he? He punched Roman, in his precious face. And the creative side hated him.

“Well he’s not here,” The fatherly-side lied.

As they said something softly and unintelligible, Virgil pressed his ear closer to the door.

“He’s probably not gone!” He heard Patton exclaim. “Have you checked his room?”

“Of course we checked his room, Patton,” Logan grumbled, and Virgil could imagine him facepalming in frustration. “We-we think—“

“Deceit,” Roman cut in darkly, causing chills to go up Virgil’s spine. The name caused his heart to skip a beat, remembering the threat. “He must’ve gotten to him first.”

“Why do you think Deceit would want Virgil?” Patton’s voice asked.

“More power? Control? Unfinished business?” Logan pointed out and Virgil shrunk back from the door. His eyes widened slightly and he pushed himself to the back wall, burying his hands in his pockets.

They couldn’t know. They never need to know.

Virgil felt his heartbeat picking up and blood roared in his ears, drowning out the muffled noises of the other sides talking. The world became nothing to him as he curled up tighter, tears pricking his eyes. He didn’t even know if his eyes were open or not because it was so dark. The unknown place made him more anxious than ever, clutter piled all around him.

In his state, Virgil didn’t even notice the door close and the quick steps towards the closet. He jerked up at light slid over him, causing him to close his eyes and curl up tighter.

“Anxiety!” Patton exclaimed, rushing forward and taking him in his arms. Virgil tensed at first, but then slowly let himself relax, moving his arms to clutch at the sides’ shirt. “I’m sorry it took so long. I should’ve left part of the closet open. I really didn’t mean to kiddo,” 

Anxiety took in a shaky breath, his tears subsiding. He felt a hand tentatively make it’s way into his hair, and at first he froze, unsure of what to do with the unfamiliar sensation. But the soft scratching and rhythmic circles Patton made soon lulled him into a calm state.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil finally said, slightly hoarse. Patton continued to play with his hair. “I was fine. I don’t know what happened.”

“You’re alright, kiddo,” Patton comforted softly. “But, Logan and Roman seemed really worried. They wanted me to come with them to help, but I told them I wanted to be alone. It might be a little suspicious, so I’ll probably have to meet up with them soon.”

Virgil let out a sigh in Patton’s arms. He knew that he would have to talk to Roman and Logan eventually. He didn’t want them to go to the dark side of the Mind Palace just to find him. They could easily get hurt.

“You don’t have to come with me,” Patton said. “And I don’t want to force you to do anything, but you’re gonna have to talk with them eventually, kiddo.”

Virgil only nodded, biting his lip.

“I don’t want to lead them on a wild goose chase around the Mind Palace,” Patton sighed, moving away from Virgil only to face him, but still kept a comforting hand on his arm. Anxiety dared looking up into his eyes, and almost immediately looked away at the sight of his desperation and sympathy. “They really do care about you, kiddo, even if you can’t see that.”

Patton pulled him up to his feet, squeezing his hand reassuringly, and Virgil tried not to let his frown show. He really couldn’t imagine Roman ever being nice to him, or Logan thinking of him more than just a good debate partner. He didn’t want to see Patton suffer though.

“You can stay here for as long as you want,” Patton smiled brightly. “I should probably go find Logan and Roman.”

“Okay,” Virgil said in his husky and slightly distorted voice, clearing his throat. He sat down on the bed, picking at the loose threads of the blanket as he watched Patton leave. 

As the door closed with a soft thud, Virgil didn’t think he had ever felt so alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll try to update at least once per week, but it depends on how busy I am!
> 
> I hope that you guys have enjoyed my story so far! :)


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But, after everything the sides’ have been through, he still somehow failed. And, no matter how many times he teased Virgil, he never realized how close they had gotten. Spending nights together watching Disney movies, throwing popcorn at each other, ending up in a giant pillow fight. He huffed out a small laugh, a warm smile growing on his face.

Roman didn’t know how long he and Logan had been searching. At this point all hope was drained from him, and he felt a large sense of foreboding somewhere deep inside him, a heavy rock sitting in his stomach.

He made his way to the Common Room, collapsing on the couch dejectedly. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a loud sigh. Roman couldn’t believe that they had lost Virgil. He was supposed to be the knight in shining armor! The one that gallantly saved the day with his sword in his hands, cape flowing behind him.

But, after everything the sides’ have been through, he still somehow failed. And, no matter how many times he teased Virgil, he never realized how close they had gotten. Spending nights together watching Disney movies, throwing popcorn at each other, ending up in a giant pillow fight. He huffed out a small laugh, a warm smile growing on his face.

Roman remembered that one movie night when Virgil has fallen asleep, practically collapsing in his lap. The side couldn’t help the small grin that had made its way onto his face. He remembered smoothing back the emo’s hair, the side unconsciously leaning into the touch. When they had woken up the next morning, the incident was never spoken of, but they had become much closer afterwards.

And now... Virgil was gone.

The prince’s eyes burned with tears, an unbearable sadness trying to crawl it’s way out of him, leaving a heavy lump in his throat. The thought that Virgil might be gone for good made the hands around his lungs squeeze tightly.

His spiraling thoughts were cut short as Logan entered the room with Patton at his side. Roman quickly wiped his face, and sat up, clearing his throat. A spark of hope grew, but quickly extinguished as he saw Logan’s defeated face.

Morality glanced at both of them, looking oddly conflicted, causing Roman to frown. The fatherly side forced a smile onto his face, moving to sit next to Roman. “C’mon guys! We can’t give up on finding Virgil! He’ll show up eventually,” Roman felt Patton bring an arm up and brought him into a side hug. He melted into the touch, letting out a sigh.

“We’ve looked everywhere, Padre,” He frowned, leaning his head on Patton’s shoulder. The arm seemed to tighten around him, and Logan made his way over, sitting on Roman’s other side. “If he were here, we would’ve found him by now.”

“We can’t give up hope yet,” Logan said, his eyes steely. “We’ll have to go to the dark part of Thomas’ mind, where the dark sides dwell. They must have taken him... or Virgil went there willingly.”

“Virgil wouldn’t go there willingly,” Roman shot out defensively, eyes darkening at the mention of the dark sides. 

“You don’t know that, Roman,” Logan shot back. “The dark sides are all Virgil has right now. He probably thinks that we hate him. All we’ve ever done to him is bully him!”

“Guys!” Patton nearly screamed, causing both Roman and Logan to startle. Roman didn’t even realize that he was digging his nails into his palms, and slowly unclenched his fists. “Stop fighting! You can’t expect us to find Virgil if you guys are arguing about it. Look, I have to tell you something—“

“Anxiety?” Logan’s voice cut off Patton, and both twisted their heads to see a figure in the doorway to the Common Room. Roman couldn’t believe it.

Virgil stood there in his black hoodie, hair fallen over his eyes in an attempt to hide away. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he bit his lip. Roman leaped off the couch, but suddenly stopped as Virgil flinched at the unexpected movement. His chest tightened painfully, but he tried to ignore it.

“Virgil—“ Roman paused when the anxious side seemed to bristle at the name, “-Anxiety,” He amended. “We’ve been looking for you! where have you been?”

“Now, Roman, we don’t want to bombard him,” Logan warned, then gestured to Virgil. “Why don’t you sit. Do you want something to drink?”

Roman watched as Virgil hesitantly made his way over to the couch, sitting next to Patton. He shook his head in response to Logan’s question. The prince stared apprehensively, deciding to stand instead of sit. 

“I-I was in the subconscious,” Virgil responded, and all the sides seemed to tense. Fear rooted Roman to his spot, and he stared at the side with wide eyes.

“You-you know how dangerous that is, Anxiety, especially for Thomas,” Logan frowned down at the side. “Your effects aren’t as strong there, and you could be lost easily.”

“I know,” Virgil sighed. “But I needed some time alone to think.”

“Did you come to any, satisfactory conclusion?” Logan asked, pushing is glasses up on his face.

Virgil paused for a second before responding. “I want to try,” at those words, Roman felt a smile grow on his face. “I want to try and be your guys’ friend again. But, I also want to gain my memories back. I-I think looking back on photos, or memories you guys have had with me could help me remember.”

“Yes!” Roman cheered, eyes sparkling with delight. “We will show you that we’ve become the closest of friends, and you shall gain your memories back! The perfect ending!”

“We shall go get some objects that could possibly help,” Logan said, already making his way towards his room. “We’ll be back soon, Anxiety.”

Roman nearly sprinted to his room, hope finally rekindling in his heart. This could work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plenty of angst is to come >:D


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now, now Virgil,” He shivered, whole body frozen at Deceit’s condescending tone. “Where do you think you’re going? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. It would be such a hassle if I lost you again.”

Virgil sat on the edge of Patton’s bed for a long time, staring at the wall. He didn’t even notice the passage of time, already spiraling deep into his thoughts. He felt unbearably cold despite his giant hoodie, and he hugged himself tightly, wishing everything could just go back to normal.

He felt bad that Patton had to carry the responsibility of him on his shoulders, he really did. But, he didn’t know how to ever face Princey. Virgil could see a path where Logan could see eye to eye with him, possibly become friends. But Roman... he just seemed to hate him with every bit of himself.

Every time he thought about it, it made his chest ache, and he wanted to tug his hair out. It wasn’t Virgil’s fault that he was anxious about Roman’s ideas. They were... dangerous, and border-round scary. Those idea’s sent his mind spiraling, vivid images of Thomas getting severely hurt.

But, he had to face them. Virgil couldn’t run away from them all his life. A small part of his mind whispered, hissed at him, telling him to run to Deceit. He would take care of everything. 

No, Anxiety shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts from his head. Deceit had never been good to him, or Thomas for that matter. He would never run to him just because he was scared. Maybe in the past, before everything fell apart, but not now. Virgil knew what he had to do.

The side stood up, narrowing his eyes in determination, trying to keep the panic at bay by taking deep breaths. Each step seemed to take hours, as his whole body shook with anxious energy. His hand hit the cold metal of the door knob, and he started twisting it open right as a hand landed on his shoulder, sliding closer to his neck.

“Now, now Virgil,” He shivered, whole body frozen at Deceit’s condescending tone. “Where do you think you’re going? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. It would be such a hassle if I lost you again.”

Virgil took a shaking hand off the doorknob, cold dread building in his stomach, causing his breath to catch in his throat. He turned around to face Deceit, glancing up at the scaled face. He was met with a sharp grin, slitted eyes that screamed malicious intent. His whole body demanded him to run, run, run, and get as far away from him as possible, but Deceit’s hand gripped his shoulder tighter.

“Why so scared, Anxiety?” Deceit asked smoothly, bringing a hand up to grip his chin. Nails dug into his skin, and he couldn’t help but let out a small whimper. “You know me, we’re friends.”

“I-I’m going to find the others,” Virgil’s voice shook, and his plan to act brave was actively failing. Deceit frowned down at him, eyes furrowing as if confused.

“I’m sorry, Virgil, but I can’t let you do that,” Virgil flinched as Deceit dug his nails further into his skin, pushing him against the wall. “I really tried doing this the easy way,” Deceit sighed, and Virgil stiffened as he ran his gloved thumb along his cheekbone, as if trying to comfort him. “But even after taking away your memory you still want to run back to them. What happened to us?”

“Y-you were the one that took my memory?” Virgil breathed out in shock, heart clenching painfully.

Deceit chuckled, “Oh, honey, who do you think it was?” He grinned again. “I tried to give you a choice. A place to run to. But, I guess it was all false hope,” his yellow eye turned to a slit. “It will be so much work if I do plan B.”

“What?” Anxiety asked in confusion, eyes narrowing, sparking with fear. 

“Impersonating you,” Deceit said as if it was obvious, tilting his head to the side. “I admit, it’s not a fully thought out plan, but I’ve known you long enough. It will be so easy to trick the others into thinking it’s truly you. No one will ever notice, while you’ll be left to rot away in the dark.”

The pinned side shook at those words, trying and failing to lean away from Deceit. All it really did was bring Deceit closer to him, breaths fanning over his face. He tried to turn away, but the grip on him was unshakable.

“I really am sorry, Virgil,” Deceit whispered, and for a second the gloved hand on his face disappeared, only for Anxiety to be greeted with pain searing through his head, and everything going dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for making slimy boi so evil ;^;


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Roman walked in, he spotted Virgil still sitting in the same spot, staring hard at the floor, a small smirk on his face. The smirk almost reminded him of the old Virgil, and it made his heart ache. But, he quickly shook those thoughts away. They would get him back.

Roman came rushing back to the Common Room, arms full of random objects and pictures. He had rummaged through his room as fast as possible, leaving it a complete mess, but he could always fix it later. The only thing he was worried about was Virgil. 

His heart leapt with excitement at the fact that they could possibly get his memories back. A grin had a plastered itself on his face, and seemed unmovable. And while he looked through his stuff, the excitement softened into something reminiscent. He tried to pick the stuff with the most memorable moments—something that could bring the old Virgil back.

As Roman walked in, he spotted Virgil still sitting in the same spot, staring hard at the floor, a small smirk on his face. The smirk almost reminded him of the old Virgil, and it made his heart ache. But, he quickly shook those thoughts away. They would get him back.

“Hey, Hot Topic!” He announced, taking a seat far enough away that the anxious side was comfortable. “I brought plenty of stuff that could fix you right up!”

Roman set his pile of objects on the floor right as Logan walked through the entryway. The logical side was carrying a stack of books—scrapbooks? Shock fell over him at the thought of Logan taking precious time out of his day to make a photo album of them all. That’s something he would imagine Patton doing.

“Greeting, Anxiety,” Logan said formally, obviously speaking carefully as to not make Virgil mad for any reason. “I have brought some photos, which at sight, will hopefully bring your memory back.”

“You really make scrapbooks?” Roman finally asked, still shocked that the emotionless side would do that. “You?”

“These memories have important information that I may need to look back on,” Logan sniffed, staring Roman down. 

“Sure, Microsoft Nerd,” Roman grinned, causing Logan to grumble. Suddenly a crash was heard down the hall.

“Kiddos? Mind helping your old man?” Roman heard Patton shout from down the hall. He jumped up, walking towards the hall to see Patton nearly buried under a pile of objects.

“Of course, Padre!” Roman exclaimed, bending down and taking half of the items into his arms.

“I doubt that you need all of this...” Logan reached down and picked up an old plastic bag filled with cookie crumbs. “Junk.” 

“It’s not ‘junk’!” Patton leaped up, snatching the bag from his hands, and holding it in front of him carefully. “This was the from the first batch of cookies Virgil and I made together!”

“Your point?” Logan asked flatly, one brow raised.

“Alright guys, enough!” Roman exclaimed, exasperated. “Virgil is waiting for us.”

“Of course,” Logan said quickly, picking up some of Patton’s stuff, and following Roman back to the Common Room.

“So, how are we doing this?” Virgil opened his mouth for the first time since they had left, seeming eager to figure everything out. 

“I suppose we could go with the most memorable moment,” Logan started. “The day you ducked out.”

“Quack.”

“I ducked out?” Anxiety asked, furrowing his brows while a faint quack was heard from Patton again.

“You thought we didn’t want you there,” Roman frowned, guilt filling his heart. “Mostly because of me...”

“But,” Logan quickly cut in, “we explained to you how important you were to Thomas. You saved us from being corrupted, told us your name, and we all tried to understand you better.”

“I-i think I remember that,” Virgil frowned, narrowing his eyes. “What happened after that?”

“Oh! We all decided which Hogwarts house we would be in!” Patton exclaimed. “I was Hufflepuff, Roman was Gryffindor, and Logan was Ravenclaw! But, you decided that you didn’t need to be in a house to fit in with us and it was so cute!”

“And that’s where we got these glorious outfit changes!” Roman exclaimed, showing off his own outfit, in which Logan stared dryly at him. 

“Is that why I woke up wearing that purple hoodie?” Anxiety asked. “I got to say, that confused me.”

“You weren’t wearing pajamas when you woke up? Maybe Deceit knocked you out...” Logan theorized out loud. 

“Deceit? Why are you immediately jumping to him?” Virgil shot out, narrowing his eyes but fidgeting with his jacket hem nervously. “Anything could’ve happened. I don’t think we should be focusing on what caused it, but fixing it instead.”

“I guess that makes sense...” Logan frowned, then shook his head. Roman watched him reach down and grab one of his scrapbooks. “We can look at some photos and maybe that will help.”

Everyone crowded around as he flipped open the book to a random page, which was filled with moving pictures.

“Woah! It’s like Harry Potter!” Patton exclaimed with excitement, eyes sparkling. 

“Yeah.. why are they moving?” Roman asked Logan.

“I don’t carry a camera around wherever I go. I simply place the memory into a slot and it stays there,” He said as if it was obvious.

“How... how does that even work?” Virgil asked.

“It’s Thomas’ mind, alright? Some things don’t have an explanation,” Logan sighed, and everyone just shrugged.

“Oh! I remember this one!” Roman said, pointing at the moving photo of them at the beach. “You guys should thank me by the way. It took a while to make everything perfect in the Mind Scape!”

“It’s our baking competition!” Patton grabbed the book and pointed at the memory. “Virgil you made the best lava cake!”

Roman chuckled, remembering that day. He had tried making a towering cake, which didn’t end very well, considering that he never really baked before. He ended up getting frosting everywhere, causing a food fight between everyone, even Logan.

They all kept talking, sharing the memories and laughing. Virgil smiled brightly, glad to have all of this insight into what his life was like. Roman was glad that they were getting more and more of the old Virgil back.

By the end of the day, they were all cuddled on the couch watching, Finding Nemo together. Virgil had his head on Patton’s shoulder, while the dad side leaned against Roman, arms around his waist. Logan had fallen asleep, head slowly slipping onto the prince’s lap.

Roman grinned, he finally had his family back, and he wouldn’t let anyone take it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! I lost motivation because this was mostly a filler chapter :,)
> 
> Virgil POV next, so get ready! :D


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the panic at bay, he uncurled himself, kneeling on the floor. He grazed his hand across it, noticing that it was only cold, gritty concrete. He reached forward, only to be stopped by a wall. His breath quickened, and he quickly brought his other hand to the other side of him, only to be stopped again.

Darkness.

That was the first thing that Virgil registered when he awoke.

Was it dark or were his eyes still closed?

Then the aching pain in his head finally registered.

Virgil let out a groan, curling in on himself and bringing a hand up to lightly touch his head. He flinched away as fire seared across his skull at the light touch. His heart began to thump rapidly, and he tried taking deep breaths, trying not to let the darkness consume him. In and out.

With the panic at bay, he uncurled himself, kneeling on the floor. He grazed his hand across it, noticing that it was only cold, gritty concrete. He reached forward, only to be stopped by a wall. His breath quickened, and he quickly brought his other hand to the other side of him, only to be stopped again.

Virgil scrambled up, head hitting the ceiling causing pain to rip through his skull. He let out a soft hiss, wincing at the banging left in his head. He turned, feeling for the cold wall, but it something wooden instead. A door.

He scrambled for the knob, flinching at the frigidness that emanated from the metallic sphere. Virgil tried twisting it open, but it stopped. Locked. Oh god, he was locked in here.

Virgil desperately threw his body at the door, only causing his body to ache. His poor attempts to keep his panic at bay fled him, and he felt his chest tighten painfully.

“Help!” Virgil shouted desperately, banging on the door with a white-knuckled fist. “Let me out!”

Virgil choked out more desperate screams, until a sob finally ripped out of his throat. Tears slipped out of his burning eyes, leaving cold, salty trails down his face. The walls of the closet closed in on him, suffocating him. He couldn’t breathe. He had to get out. Get out, get out getoutgetout.

He clawed at the wood until splinters we’re stuck under his bloody nails. Virgil let out a sob, turning and slowly sliding down to the cold floor that sent chills throughout his body. He couldn’t seem to get a single breath in his body. He was drowning in the darkness. Lungs freezing over until they couldn’t move.

Virgil didn’t know how long he sat, curled up on the floor in a sobbing heap. By the end, his throat felt raw, limbs weak, breath hitching. His head banged painfully against his skull, and he wanted to cry even more at the pain. His fingers finally began to burn, and he quickly regretted his idiotic attempts at escape.

Virgil took slow and long breaths, trying to calm himself down. The aching pain in his head was still as prominent as ever, but he seemed to be able to think clearer now. 

“Okay, Virge,” He quietly spoke to himself. “You’re trapped in a really, really small closet. But that’s okay. Someone will surely notice that you’re gone...” then he remembered.

It came back in a quick flash, the painful grip on his face, his back against the wall, that scaled face way too close for his liking. 

Deceit was gonna impersonate him. 

No—Deceit IS impersonating him.

He was going to be stuck here. In the never ending darkness, and no one would ever know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day because I felt bad for not updating in a week! :D
> 
> I’m sorry for what I did to Virgil and I’m sorry it’s so short, but hey there isn’t much to right about a closet ._.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he popped up, he was greeted with the sight of Thomas curled up on his bed, breaths quickening by the second. Logan was already by his side, counting for Thomas, and Patton sat anxiously on the side. Roman quickly made his way over and sat down next to Patton, concern gripping his heart.

They had already watched a couple Disney movies before Roman felt a tug somewhere deep inside him. He furrowed his brows, confused as to why Thomas would be calling him. Logan jumped, lifting his head off of Roman’s lap, face slightly red, and almost immediately sunk out, while Patton did the same. The prince sighed and sunk out, wondering what was wrong.

When he popped up, he was greeted with the sight of Thomas curled up on his bed, breaths quickening by the second. Logan was already by his side, counting for Thomas, and Patton sat anxiously on the side. Roman quickly made his way over and sat down next to Patton, concern gripping his heart. Virgil suddenly appeared, causing both Roman and Patton to flinch. 

“What are you doing, Virgil?” Roman asked, his protection of Thomas beating his filter. “There’s nothing to possibly be anxious about right now!”

“I-I’m not meaning to,” Virgil hugged himself, biting his lip. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“It must be an involuntary reaction to your memory loss,” Logan supplied after finally getting Thomas to calm down. “Your mind must be confused, causing random fits of anxiety.”

“So, what? I’m just going to randomly have anxiety attacks for no reason?” Thomas asked, eyes darting around, eyeing each side in the room. Roman frowned, turning to stare at Logan for answers.

“Possibly a couple more, but Virgil should be feeling better soon. With my calculations, he should remember everything in a couple days. Maybe sooner,” the logical side explained, causing Thomas to relax slightly. He then turned towards Virgil.

“So, are you okay now?” He asked carefully. 

“Everyone’s helping me,” Virgil nodded. “Like Logan said, I’ll probably be normal in a couple days.”

“Thank you guys for helping me,” Thomas smiled at them. “Sorry for summoning you guys out of nowhere.”

“It’s alright kiddo! What else are we here for?” Patton grinned, and Roman found himself nodding along.

“Yes, whatever you need, and we’ll be here!” Roman exclaimed reassuringly.

“If that’s all, I guess we shall be getting back,” Logan said while sinking out, and Patton immediately followed, obviously wanting to finish the movie they were watching. Roman followed after that with one last worried glance at Thomas and Virgil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days slowly crept past. Virgil remembered more with the help of Logan’s scrapbooks, and their stories. He even changed back to his purple-patched hoodie which Roman was thankful for. Thomas did have a couple more anxiety attacks, but they slowly dwindled.

There had been those odd moments when Roman would hear Virgil’s door open sometime in the night, but he brushed it off. He probably just wanted to look around without being bombarded by the other sides. One thing was always sure about Anxiety, he loved to have his moments alone from time to time.

Whenever they rose up to help Thomas with a problem, Virgil sometimes said things he wouldn’t usually say. Roman always brushed it off as the memory loss, and it maybe changing some of Virgil’s personality. But most of the time, he was still the same emo nightmare he always knew. 

Every time it would happen though, he couldn’t help but notice the look on Logan’s face. It started with a roll of the eyes, maybe a furrow in the brow, then grew into accusatory glares. Roman couldn’t understand why Logan would stare at Virgil like that after just making excuses for him only days before.

Roman was now sitting on the couch in the Common Room, laptop perched on his lap as he tried to think of new ideas for a video, but continuously got sidetracked. Patton was rewatching episodes of Parks and Recreation besides him, letting out the occasional laugh. Logan was reading on the other side of the couch, resting against the arm.

Roman flinched as he heard the loud slam of Logan’s book snapping closed. The side stood up and began to walk down the hall, leaving nothing but a, “I’m going to go check on Virgil.”

The creative side furrowed his brow, but let him go without questions. None of them had seen Virgil for hours, but that wasn’t a totally rare thing. He was most likely listening to that music of his in those giant headphones. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and turned back towards the laptop. He sighed as he stared at an empty page of ideas.

He suddenly jumped as a hand slammed his laptop closed, and Roman turned to glare at Patton. The small spark of anger dissipated as he only saw concern in his eyes. 

“You’ve been working for hours, Ro,” Patton frowned, taking the laptop and setting it down. “Your obviously worried about something, what is it?”

“It’s nothing,” Roman grumbled, only for the side to raise a brow. He huffed, “Since when did you become so astute?”

“I call it my dad-sense,” Patton grinned, obviously proud of the name. Roman chuckled, eyes softening.

“I guess I’m just worried,” Roman finally said. “I know that Virgil is trying, but he still seems changed...” he frowned down at his hands. “Do you think he’ll ever be back to normal?”

“I think that it will just take time,” Patton said gently, taking Roman’s hands in his own. “You know how long it took for Virgil to finally feel apart of our family.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out, then wrapped Patton in a hug which he eagerly returned. “Thanks, Padre.”

Roman’s spirits had risen after that, and he surrendered to Patton’s nagging. Allowing himself to relax and watch Parks and Recreation with him. He only just then began to realize that hours had passed and Logan still wasn’t back. He assumed that he and Virgil were just talking, but worry picked at him.

Just as Roman decided he was going to see what was wrong, Logan appeared through the hallway. The worry vanished, and he patted a spot on the couch beside him, hoping that he would join them. Thankfully, Logan took a seat besides him.

“What’s up with Virgil?” Roman asked.

“He was just lost looking through the scrapbooks. I stayed with him to explain some, then brought him a couple more,” Logan explained, making himself comfortable. 

Roman nodded, turning his gaze back towards the television. Things were looking up again, and he just hoped that nothing else would go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep dreaming, Roman 
> 
> I got some evil plans >:)
> 
> Expect I have no idea where I’m going with this so let’s hope for the best! :D


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil jerked awake. They weren’t just images, he realized. They were his memories. His mind scrambled to remember them, but the more he tried to reach them, the further they went. It made him want to cry in frustration. That had been the only chance to remember anything, and they somehow still escaped his clutches. 
> 
> Then the knob wiggled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow two chapters in one day! I’m proud of myself! :D

Sitting in the dark is not fun.

Virgil found this out after sitting in the small, cramped closet for at least a couple hours. The thing was, he couldn’t tell how long it had been. He had started counting, knowing that the numbers would help him calm down, but he stopped after reaching around 17 minutes. So, of course anyone would get bored.

Virgil has closed his eyes and tried not to think that if he opened them, it wouldn’t even make a difference. Then that would lead to the darker thoughts, which would lead to panic. And that panic would effect Thomas in one way or another. He had to reel himself in, so here he was. Sitting, hunched over, in the cold, locked closet, with no means of escape.

The anxious side didn’t know when, but he had managed to slip into a light slumber. Images of the sides greeted him. Images he had never seen. They all blurred together in a mixture of laughter and brightness, leaving nothing but a warm fire in his heart that burned brighter with each new image.

Virgil jerked awake. They weren’t just images, he realized. They were his memories. His mind scrambled to remember them, but the more he tried to reach them, the further they went. It made him want to cry in frustration. That had been the only chance to remember anything, and they somehow still escaped his clutches. 

Then the knob wiggled.

The sound pierced the never ending darkness that Virgil has quickly grown used to, and he flinched back as a ray of light washed over him. His eyes burned as they attempted to adjust, but he ended up slamming his eyes shut as tears pricked at his eyes. Behind his eyelids, he could see a shadow passing over him.

“I hope you’re enjoying your new room, Anxiety,” Deceit’s sickly sweet voice flooded around him, and he immediately tensed. “I’ve just come to check up on you. And I totally didn’t come to see your face when I told you that no one has noticed a thing.”

Virgil squinted his eyes open, as his eyes burned with something new. He hugged himself tightly, glaring at the snake-faced side. Deceit only let out a laugh. It was sharp, and jabbed at his head that had only just now began to stop throbbing.

“Goodbye, Virgil. I’ll see you soon,” Deceit ended ominously, closing the door softly, but the lock seem to shake the whole closet.

Virgil let out a broken sob, clamping a hand over his mouth as he desperately tried to stifle it. Salty tears traced tracks down his pale cheeks, that were slowly turning more pink and flushed by the second. The one arm that was left, hugged his torso tightly, and nails bit into his palm. His chest hiccuped as he took in gulps of air behind his hand. He closed his eyes, and tried to forget everything around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At this point, Virgil was emotionally exhausted. He didn’t know how long he had been stuck here, but it had to have been a couple days by now. Sides couldn’t get hungry, but it didn’t stop his neck from cramping from staying in his hunched position for so long. 

Virgil tried to sleep as much as possible. He wouldn’t have to deal with the slow passage of time, and it would help keep his energy up. And, if he was lucky, he would get flashes of memories. They slowly became more and more frequent in his mind. He remembered the day that the sides accepted him, and all that caused was another fit of tears.

Deceit would visit every so often, only to taunt him. Sometimes the side would disguise it in concern or sympathy, and it only made the ache in his heart hurt even more. It was like he had a snake circling his lungs, and biting down on his heart. And every day it would slowly get tighter, and clamp down harder.

Sometimes Virgil would crawl around, trying to stretch his aching limbs as much as possible. He found that, though still unbearably small, the closet was at least big enough to cramp two other people in. That would only be if they were all practically on top of each other. The thought only made the snake coiled around his lungs squeeze harder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had probably been three or four days in when the sound of the door unlocking jerked Virgil awake. He clenched his eyes shut, preparing for the onslaught of light. And as promised, the light did spill into the closet, the shadow of Deceit quiet obvious.

“Enjoy your new roommate, Virgil,” was all the warning he got before something slammed into his side and the door was shut tightly, locking soundly.

Virgil scrambled up, eyes widening with shock, as the figure half on top of him let out a low groan. He sucked in a sharp breath and knelt down, carefully moving the person off of him and against the wall. His hands brushed past a tie, and he immediately knew it was Logan. Feeling something next to him with his foot, he carefully picked up the logical side’s glasses, managing to slide them on his face.

Virgil heard a shift of clothing and another grunt of pain. “Hey, Lo,” Virgil whispered reassuringly, voice soft with sympathy.

“V-Virgil?” Logan stuttered out, and Virgil felt his hands reaching out to find him, which he quickly grabbed in his own and squeezed. “This is where Deceit has been keeping you?” 

“How—no, why are you even here? Why would Deceit bring Logic here?” Virgil asked sharply, thoroughly confused. His heart thumped loudly in his chest.

“I had gone to confront Deceit of his falsehood,” Logan explained quietly. “I had noticed your off behavior, and noted that it couldn’t just be because of your memory loss, that you had been acting in the way you had. The thought had been nagging me, till I finally gave in.”

“And now you’re here,” Virgil concluded, despair sinking in.

“And now I’m here,” Logan affirmed, unconsciously squeezing Virgil’s hands. “And you’ve been here... for how long?”

“I’m guessing a few days? I think ever since ‘I’ came to talk with you guys,” Virgil had guessed based off of what Deceit had told him. “Is everyone okay? Is Thomas okay?”

“Everyone is fine. Deceit hasn’t actually tried to do anything except sway some of Thomas’ opinions,” Logan supplied. “Thomas has been okay for the most part. He has had a couple of anxiety attacks... which I guess is from you?”

Virgil winced. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to keep the anxiety at bay, but there isn’t much to think about when you’re sitting in the dark,” he frowned, frustrated with himself for causing Thomas that much anxiety over nothing.

“Understandable,” Logan replied with sympathy, and Virgil suddenly felt a wave a gratefulness hit him.

“Is it bad to say that I’m kinda glad that you’re here?” Virgil asked, throat growling tight. He clenched Logan’s hands, as if he would suddenly disappear, melt into the shadows.

“No, I wouldn’t want to be alone either for as long as you have,” Logan answered truthfully, gathering Virgil into his arms as he let out a choked off sob. “I’m glad to see you again, Virgil.”

He could only nod into the side’s neck, arms clenching the fabric of his shirt so tightly he thought it would rip. Virgil was glad that Logan seemed to be holding him in the same grip, grounding him. He had never been so grateful to see another side, and it made his heart sing.

Virgil’s tears slowly subsided, and he soon drifted off in Logan’s protective hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news is that Virgil has a new closet-mate!
> 
> Bad news is that Logan is stuck in a closet! :D
> 
> Let’s just hope that things are doing okay with Roman and the others :)


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not being rude,” Virgil scoffed, rolling his eyes under his bangs. “You’re just thinking too much into it. I’m trying has hard as I can here, and you seem to forget that I lost my memory.”
> 
> “Yeah, well that shouldn’t excuse you turning into a jerk,” Roman growled under his breath as Virgil brushed past him, pushing against him a little too hard. And, if the side had heard any of what he said, he didn’t comment about it.

Roman stared down at the paper in front of him, dark scribbles seemingly mocking him. He bit the tip of his pencil eraser, eyes narrowed as frustration bubbled up inside him. Every idea didn’t seem good enough. He had think. Think.

Roman snatched up the piece of paper with a snarl and crumpled it up into a ball, throwing it into the trash with the millions of other papers. He let out a loud sigh, rubbing his forehead at the beginning of a headache.

For the past few days, he just couldn’t think. No matter how hard he slaved at his desk, thinking and thinking, coming up with idea after idea, nothing was good. And no, it wasn’t the problem with originality again. It was, this dark... creature, in the back of his mind. No—not creature, a leech. It stuck to him, sucking away all of his energy and creativity, and leaving him with nothing. Taking and no giving.

And Roman had taken breaks, trying to get rid of that leech by just giving himself time to relax. But, it never seemed to go away. The pile of crumpled papers just seemed to be growing larger and larger until he thought he would be drowning in a white sea of rejected ideas. He kept trying desperately to get out, but only to be pulled down further as he added more and more polluted ideas into the sea, turning white to gray, leaving him breathless.

The prince knew that he was overreacting, that was him, the dramatic one. It was simply a blockade in his mind that he would eventually find a way over. There was no need to spiral into these metaphors that would make no sense to anyone but him. He would get the creative rush he needed soon enough, hopefully. Because, then what would he be?

Nothing.

That one thought seemed to chill the whole room, leaving it still, like a winter morning. He stared down blankly at his hands, trying to ignore the everlasting goosebumps, and trying to feel past the thick sheen of numbness. 

A tug.

Roman shook himself out of his stupor, rising to his feet and taking a shaky breath before sinking out, expecting to escape the chilling room, but only to find that it clung onto him, just like the leech he had in his head.

“Good, Roman!” He managed not to jump at the sound of Thomas’ voice. Roman turned his gaze towards Thomas, plastering on one of his signature smiles, yet it didn’t seem to work, as a spark of concern flashed in Thomas’ eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Of course!” The prince lied, guilt clutching onto his gut and wringing it. He noticed Logan flash a look at him, and he chose to ignore it. 

“I-if you’re sure,” Thomas took one last wavering look at Roman before turning his gaze back to the rest of them. Well, everyone except Virgil. Thomas seemed to take notice immediately. “Uhm, where’s Virgil? I kinda really needed him for this.”

“Virgil told me that he was taking the day off, trying to finally piece together the last of his memories,” Logan quickly replied, staring at Thomas. “I don’t believe he wants to be bothered.”

“Well,” Thomas scratched the hair on his neck, which Roman knew was a telltale sign of anxiety. “I have been wanting to talk with him. I haven’t really felt... right?”

“What do you mean by that? Are you unwell?” Logan asked, looking concerned, which Roman could quickly agree to. Thomas did seem quite nervous, fingers twitching, feet constantly shifting on the floor.

“This is why I wanted to talk with Virgil,” Thomas sighed, rubbing at his eyes, which seemed much more sunken in and dark. “It’s this constant buzz that just makes me anxious about anything I do. Sure, it’s been there when I’m doing something important, or when I’m talking on the phone, but this is literally everywhere. When I’m watching a show, or cooking, or hanging out with friends.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Thomas, just Virgil adjusting—“

“Yeah, but that what you said before, Logan,” Thomas reasoned worriedly. “Yes, the anxiety attacks have stopped, but now I’m just constantly on edge.”

“That is a little worrying,” Patton frowned, glancing at Logan. “I’m sure Virgil can take a break for a moment.”

“I will go get him,” Logan sighed. “It looks like I’m not needed in this conversation anyways. ‘Feelings’ are definitely not my territory.”

Roman frowned as Logan sunk out, wondering why Logan would just leave. Did Logan forget the whole breakdown that he had had just a few days prior? It looked like he was back to denying his emotions again, which didn’t sit right with Roman. 

“What do you want?” Virgil ground out, appearing out of nowhere, the suddenness almost causing Roman to flinch. It seemed that Thomas couldn’t hold it back, but it made sense, taking his anxious mood into account.

“Are you feeling okay?” Thomas asked, always worrying about others first.

“Well considering I did lose my memory a few days ago, not feeling too great!” Virgil said, sounding surprisingly frustrated. “I’m trying, Thomas, I promise.”

“I know, Virgil,” Thomas sighed, looking slightly guilty. “But I just, need you to try a bit harder. Even with lost memories, you should still be able to keep your anxiety under control. Logan said that you were practically better.”

“Y’know, with all of this talk, I’m considering to duck out again,” The anxious side nearly growled, and Roman felt slightly taken aback.

“That-that’s not what I’m saying!” Thomas quickly shot back, looking scared. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like you weren’t wanted. I do need you, and I know your trying your best.”

“Well then, if you don’t mind me, I’m going back to my room,” And with that, he sunk out. Roman felt a spark of anger, and almost went after him, but one look at Thomas’ anxious face stopped him. He glanced at Patton for help, but he looked just as lost as he did.

“Thomas,” Roman started. “You can’t let Virgil treat you like that,” he hesitated, trying to think of something to say. “Anxiety is yours, and you can’t let him push you around and let him control you like that.”

“But he said he might duck out! That would be terrible,” Thomas replied, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

“And you can’t let him hang something over your head like that,” Patton added, looking almost as angry as Roman felt a few moments ago. “You need to try reasoning with him.”

“You guys are right,” Thomas sighed, looking frustrated. “It’s just weird to see Virgil so... changed.”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Roman concluded, looking between Thomas and Patton to see whether they agreed. They both nodded at him, Patton giving him an encouraging smile as he sunk out.

Roman popped back up in his room, and he turned his head to ignore the pile of papers, quickly making him way towards his door. He opened it, stepping into the hall. He made his way over to Virgil’s door, knocking.

Only to get no response.

Roman frowned, knocking harder, knuckles aching. 

Nothing.

The prince let out a huff, turning towards Logan’s room and rapping his knuckles against the gray-painted wood. There was some stumble that resounded, causing him to wince slightly. The door flung open to see Logan’s stoic face.

“You good?” Roman asked, glancing behind the side’s shoulder too see what had fallen, but it was there seemed to be nothing.

“I am fine,” Logan replied robotically. “What are you here for, Roman?”

“Have you seen Virgil? I wanted to talk to him,” Roman asked, returning his gaze to Logan’s face. “He said he would be in his room, but no one answered the door.”

“I haven’t seen him,” Logan frowned, and Roman couldn’t identify the emotion swirling in his brown eyes. “He’s probably somewhere. No need to look, he’ll probably be back for movie night.”

“I guess...” Roman said uncertainly. 

“Oh, tell Patton that I won’t be there for movie night,” Logic quickly said. “I’m busy creating schedules for Thomas.”

“Okay, have fun with that, Microsoft Nerd,” Princey replied, then shot a concerned glance at him. “Just don’t overwork yourself.”

Logan nodded and closed the door abruptly. Roman started blankly at the door, a frown making his way onto his face. He shook his head, clearing away his thoughts and turned back towards his room. He hoped that now he had a clearer mind for ideas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luckily, Virgil had shown up for movie night. Patton seemed sad that not the whole family was there, but he brushed it off with a grin. Roman managed to get Virgil alone, confronting him about his rude behavior.

“Virgil,” Roman started, having followed him into the kitchen when he left to get a glass of water.

“What do you want, Princey?” Virgil drawled, taking a sip of his water.

“You need to stop being so rude to Thomas.” Roman stated, narrowing his eyes at the side. 

“I’m not being rude,” Virgil scoffed, rolling his eyes under his bangs. “You’re just thinking too much into it. I’m trying has hard as I can here, and you seem to forget that I lost my memory.”

“Yeah, well that shouldn’t excuse you turning into a jerk,” Roman growled under his breath as Virgil brushed past him, pushing against him a little too hard. And, if the side had heard any of what he said, he didn’t comment about it.

For the rest of the night, Roman sat away from Virgil, glaring at the television. Patton kept glancing between the two, shooting a questioning look at Roman. He only shrugged, turning to glare at the screen again, frustration bubbling inside of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that night, Roman and Virgil seemed to be ignoring each other as much as possible. Anytime he was slightly rude to Thomas, Roman would get extremely protective, shooting a rude comment towards the anxious side. Patton was also quick to defend Thomas, but in a much kinder way. And Logan never seemed to be in the room whenever Virgil was. He wondered if he and Virgil also had some sort of fight.

Thomas’ anxious behavior slightly waned, but it was still there most of the time. Virgil stayed in his room most of the time, and Roman stopped bothering trying to talk to him. Movie nights and dinners mostly consisted of himself, Patton, and Logan, but the emotional side always left a plate near Virgil’s door.

It seemed that everyone was constantly on edge. Patton seemed to be shrinking back into his shell more and more, Logan was suddenly too stoic, ‘robotic’. He seemed to be closing himself off from the others. With both Patton and Logan drifting farther away, Roman felt unbearably alone. 

Even worse, their behavior seemed to be affecting Thomas. His emotions seemed to be all over the place, mostly negative. He was constantly anxious, sometimes even feeling depressed. He had stopped seeing most of his friends, and spent most of the time in his bed, scrolling on his phone.

Roman desperately tried to think of ideas, trying to lift everyone’s spirits, but nothing seemed to work. He ended up spending most of his time staring blankly at a piece of paper with nothing written on it. He felt constantly weighed down, ending up thinking back to when everything was perfect. Before Virgil had lost his memory. It seemed that everything has spiraled from that moment. Everything seemed to be fracturing, and Roman didn’t know how to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what Deceit’s endgame is! Can’t be good, because these poor beans are slowly digging themselves into a deeper pit!


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At one point, Virgil felt Logan shaking beside him, rubbing hands over his arms as he tried to get warm. Virgil then remembered that Logan wore short-sleeves and had nothing to fend the cold with. He made haste to shrug off his black hoodie, slinging it around Logan’s shoulders. The side had jumped, surprised at the unexpected warmth, but didn’t complain. Virgil had long-sleeves anyways.

Virgil blearily opened up his eyes, only to be greeted by darkness, but that wasn’t anything new. He sighed into the warmth that encircled him, trying to sink further into the comforting hold. Then he remembered what had happened, jerking up with embarrassment, face going warm. But, it seemed that Logan had also fallen asleep, still snoring lightly in the darkness.

Virgil didn’t know what to think of Logan’s appearance with him in the closet. For one, he was overwhelmingly joyous that he had another side to talk to, instead of wasting away in the darkness. But, worry clung onto him as he thought of the others in Deceit’s grasp. Sadly, the snake wasn’t a total idiot, and was smart enough to play two people. He didn’t know what Deceit’s plan could possibly be, but if anything from his past was proof, he definitely harbored much anger.

Virgil’s thoughts were cut off as he heard Logan shift. The logical side let out a grunt as he tried to stretch, only to be stopped by the walls. Virgil suddenly felt terrible for being so happy that he was stuck in a closet with him. It was extremely selfish, and the other sides needed Logan’s help more than Virgil did.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Lo,” Virgil commented dryly, trying to hide his thoughts from the calculating side. “Glad to have you.”

“Greetings, Virgil,” Logan responded, sounding tired. “I don’t know how you’ve spent so long in here. I’m already sore.”

“Well, Deceit isn’t nice enough to give us rooms,” Virgil grumbled. “But don’t worry, he visits every once in a while to gloat!”

“Oh joy,” Logan responded with a dry, sarcastic tone. “The others will have to catch on soon enough. They’ll see that we are not ever in the same room together.”

“I doubt it,” Virgil sighed, picking at the cold ground below him. “Deceit has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He has that name for a reason. And even if they do catch on, we’ll never know.”

“Well,” Logan trailed off, and Virgil could imagine him pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “Not technically.”

“What-what’s that supposed to mean?” Virgil raised a brow, despite knowing Logan wouldn’t see. “Care to elaborate?”

“Ah, you don’t seem to remember when we had gone to Patton’s room,” Logan spoke quietly to itself, but the sound seemed to echo around the small space. “I had—ducked out, when I became too frustrated with everyone. Everyone thought I was gone, but I continued to explain that I am an embodiment of Thomas’ thoughts, not a... feeling.” 

“And, what does that mean?” Virgil asked, slightly confused.

“I can tap into whatever Thomas is seeing,” Logan explained, a slight smugness in his voice. “Therefore, we can see what’s happening.”

“Well why haven’t you been doing that this entire time?” Virgil exclaimed, flailing to grab Logan by the shoulders.

“It takes concentration,” Logan pointed out, grabbing Virgil’s arms and slowly putting them back to his side. “And I won’t be able to talk to you or hear what you’re saying, unless you do what you just did.”

“Oh,” Virgil breathed out, face flushing. “I’ll be quiet then.”

There wasn’t a response, so Virgil guessed that the side was already focusing. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, trying to calm his nerves. It was like he was alone again, but he tried not to let it bother him. Logan was his only chance of finding out what was happening beyond the closet walls.

It didn’t take long for Logan to return to his normal state, but honestly, time seemed relative in the darkness. The logical side jerked slightly, as if startled awake from a nightmare. It was the first thing that let Virgil know that he was back.

“What happened?” Virgil asked, tapping his fingers against his leg nervously.

“Nothing much,” Logan sighed. “Thomas is still anxious, but Deceit hasn’t done anything I’m aware of. Need I remind you, I can only see through Thomas, so I don’t know what’s happening with the others.”

“At least nothing bad has happened,” Virgil relaxed slightly, leaning heavily against the wall. 

“Yet,” Logan murmured from the other side of the closet. Virgil only hummed in response, closing his eyes, and trying to steady his heartbeat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They stopped staying at the other ends of the closet when Virgil had woken up from a nightmare, terrified that Logan returning had just been a dream. His panicked breaths had woken up Logan from his light slumber, and the logical side had quickly uncoiled himself and rushed to comfort Virgil.

Now they sat nearly side by side, always having at least one foot touching to let themselves know that the other was still present. Virgil found comfort in the closeness that they shared, despite the sore limbs. He still couldn’t remember much, but he trusted Logan. 

They talked, wiling away in the darkness. Logan had mostly been recalling memories, mostly happy ones. Sometimes Virgil found himself laughing, forgetting the fact that he was locked in a freezing closet. Forgetting that Deceit was taking control of the Mind Palace.

Logan had also tapped in to Thomas’ mind occasionally, only to find nothing too strange. He always stuck around when he stepped in on Thomas talking to another side, hoping to get insight on what was happening in the Mind Palace.

At one point, Virgil felt Logan shaking beside him, rubbing hands over his arms as he tried to get warm. Virgil then remembered that Logan wore short-sleeves and had nothing to fend the cold with. He made haste to shrug off his black hoodie, slinging it around Logan’s shoulders. The side had jumped, surprised at the unexpected warmth, but didn’t complain. Virgil had long-sleeves anyways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil was surprised at how long it took for Deceit to visit them. Even Logan had flinched at the unexpected light that sliced through the darkness. Virgil unconsciously scooted closer to Logan, seeking protection from Deceit, who was nothing but a silhouette in the light.

“I see that you both have accommodated yourselves nicely,” Deceit flashed his sharp-toothed grin, that yellow eye burning a hole through Virgil. He felt Logan tighten his hoodie around his shoulders, and in the corner of his eye he could see the side glaring right back at Deceit.

“I just came to tell you how easy it’s been to trick everyone,” Deceit smirked, staring at his nails with disinterest, even though they were covered in his yellow gloves. “In fact, it’s been so surprisingly easy that I can leave and tell you guys about it! How they don’t see that both Logan and Virgil are gone is beyond me.”

Logan stayed silent, but Virgil could practically feel the burning fire beneath his skin. Virgil couldn’t seem to hold his anger in, and words shot out of his mouth.

“What are you planning, Deceit?” Virgil growled out darkly, eyes narrowing dangerously. 

“You see, I want to tell you, Virgil,” Deceit paused, then laughed sharply. “Oh wait, I don’t want to tell you. I will love to watch your faces when you see everything crumbling around you,” His voice turned dark, and he was practically hissing. “And by the time you realize, there will be nothing you can do.”

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him, and goosebumps raced across his skin. The door slammed shut, leaving darkness in it’s wake. Virgil shook, hands clenching and unclenching against the concrete floor. Panic seemed to choke him, because he didn’t know what to do. There was no escaping this. All he could do was wait for his impending doom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil sat cross legged, listening to Logan breathe steadily besides him. It seemed to be his only anchor now, because Logan was looking through Thomas’ eyes now. He felt his anxiety slowly rise the longer the side took. This session had dragged on for much longer than usual. He didn’t know if it was because of his own anxiety, or if it was because something was happening. He hoped it wasn’t bad. He hoped that Deceit hadn’t completed his plan so soon.

Suddenly Logan jerked, dragging air into his lungs as if he had been underwater for far too long. Virgil had his hand around him in an instant, immediately trying to calm the side. He brought the hand up to his chest, hoping his own heartbeat would help Logan steady his breathing.

“T-Thomas,” Logan stuttered out, and Virgil’s thoughts quieted. “He’s gotten so much worse.”

“What do you mean worse?” Virgil replied hastily.

“Deceit seems to be tearing up everything from the inside,” Logan stated gravely. “And he’s destroying Thomas in the process.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what a cLiFF hAnGeR—
> 
> Ahhh, I love platonic Analogical as much as romantic Analogical.
> 
> This fic isn’t meant to have any ships, but I don’t care what you guys do!
> 
> Comments are always welcome! :)


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What, Roman? What does he bring?” Thomas suddenly exploded, causing Roman to recoil. “Truly, has Deceit ever done anything so terrible? All he’s ever done is try to help me do what’s best for myself. You even agreed with him at the trial!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aA thank you all for 100 kudos and 1000 hits! It means so much to me that so many of you are enjoying my story! :)

“Thomas you must get out of bed!” Roman exclaimed, half worried, half exasperated at this point. “What happened to seizing the day?”

“Roman, can you please leave me alone,” Thomas groaned, pulling the covers over his head in an attempt to hide away. Roman only snorted, done with these antics.

Things in the Mind Palace had been quiet, and Thomas practically lived in his bed now. So, to attempt to make things slightly better for everyone, he decided to force Thomas out of bed. Maybe go for a walk outside, meet up with a friend. 

“I will not leave you alone,” Roman stated, planting his feet squarely in front of Thomas. “As your prince, it is my sworn duty to protect and care for you. This is getting unhealthy Thomas. You need to do something about it!”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be so much easier if I could just stay here?” Thomas grumbled into his pillow.

“Life is never easy Thomas,” Roman practically growled. “At least go get Starbuck’s or something—“

His suggestions were cut off as Thomas’ phone buzzed on top of his dresser. Thomas pulled his arm from out under the covers and blinked away sleep, grabbing his phone and staring at the screen. Roman leaned over Thomas’ shoulder, reading the text. He felt a spark of hope as he saw that it was from Joan. His friend seemed worried that Thomas hadn’t texted them for a while, and rarely posted on his Twitter. 

“Okay Thomas, this is your chance to reach out! Joan always helps whenever you’re feeling down,” Roman explained, hope rushing through him.

He watched as Thomas opened up the message, beginning to text back—

“What do you mean, ‘I’m fine’?” Roman exclaimed incredulously. “You’re not fine! You’re the opposite of fine! You’re lying to Joan!”

“And is lying to them so bad right now?” Thomas said flatly, and Roman froze, narrowing his eyes at him.

“You know what Deceit brings,” Roman said dangerously. 

“What, Roman? What does he bring?” Thomas suddenly exploded, causing Roman to recoil. “Truly, has Deceit ever done anything so terrible? All he’s ever done is try to help me do what’s best for myself. You even agreed with him at the trial!”

“I-“ Roman stood, still shocked from the outburst. “Well, yes, he always has your interest in mind, but he never gets it through good means. Lying is bad, Thomas, we’ve been over this.”

“At this point I don’t care,” Thomas seemed to sag, and Roman just realized how dull his eyes were. “I can’t have everyone see me like this. And I don’t want to burden them anyway. It’s not like anything in my life has gone wrong, I just suddenly don’t feel... okay.”

“I know how you feel Thomas,” Roman sighed, taking a seat on the bed next to Thomas. “But you need help.”

In his peripheral he could see Thomas nod. Roman felt a hand squeeze at his heart, because seeing Thomas so broken hurt more than any wound ever could. And that sparked something deep inside him, and it seemed to burn through his veins. He would protect Thomas, no matter the cost.

“Okay,” Roman finally said, standing up. “If you need anything, just call me up.” 

With that, he sunk out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Days seemed to move by slowly, and every single day Roman tried to motivate Thomas to do something. Once he was able to get him to go for a walk to Starbuck’s, and he decided to count it as a win. 

But, Thomas’ friends seemed to get more and more worried. Despite him telling them that he was fine, they obviously never bought it. It got to the point where Thomas was practically begging Roman to help him keep it a secret. He kept resisting, pleading Thomas to reach out, but it always ended in failure.

Logan wasn’t being his usual helpful self. Most of the time he was hiding away in his room, probably spending hours trying to figure out how to help Thomas. Roman knew that he wasn’t good at this emotional stuff, but he hoped that Logan would figure it out soon. The logical side was also still hiding from Virgil, who hadn’t shown his face in a while.

A sudden knock on his door dissipated his thoughts, and he quickly turned, briskly making his way over. He hoped it was Patton. Last time he got a look at him, he seemed so emotionally exhausted. Worry caused his stomach to roll uncomfortably. 

Roman opened the door and let out a yelp, conjuring his sword and pointing it at the snake-faced side that stood there. He had almost forgot about Deceit because he hadn’t been talking to any of them for so long. He looked oddly concerned, but most of his face was neutral. There was no signature smirk on his scaled face.

“What do you want?” Roman asked, slowly bringing his sword down as concern creeped up on him.

“We need to help Thomas,” Deceit said with no hint of malice or sarcasm. “He’s getting worse and worse and soon, we might start to become corrupted.”

“You-you want to help?” Roman faltered, letting his sword disappear into the unknown. “You?”

“I’m one of Thomas’ sides as well,” Deceit hissed. “And if you want to help him, you’re going to need my help.”

“What’s the cost?” Roman asked, voice coated with suspicion. 

“Cost?” Deceit breathed out, looking like he would throw himself out the window if Roman said another word. “There is no ‘cost’. This is for Thomas’ as well as our wellbeing.”

“You never seemed too keen to help Thomas before now.” Roman growled out. “It seemed like I was the only side who cared about him.”

“I have been doing research of my own,” Deceit hissed. “And I have always strived to help Thomas. I’ve been the only one that’s wanted to help him with his own needs, while everyone else had been too worried about his friends’ needs.”

Roman frowned at that, because if he really thought about it, Deceit was right. This seemed to be the one instance in which he wasn’t lying. Maybe they did need to toss aside labels, and actually work together. That was what they were meant to do. It was like one of those twists in movies where the villains and heroes teamed up to fight something so much bigger than them.

“So?” Deceit asked, gloved hand coming out from under his shawl. 

The creative side stared at it for a second, before tentatively reaching out with his own and shaking it. It felt weird to shake his hand, like a small spark of electricity raising across his skin. It was barely noticeable, and Roman let the feeling slide, staring at Deceit’s solemn gaze.

“Good,” Deceit said, moving his hand back under his shawl. He seemed much more relaxed now that Roman has agreed with him. “Now we must convince Patton. I’ll need your help with it.”

Roman nodded, following Deceit into the hallway and closing his door with a soft thud. The other side walked briskly down the hall, shawl flowing with the small breeze he created. Roman made haste to catch up with him, uneasiness pricking at his skin.

They made it to Patton’s door. The white paint was slightly chipped, but the door was covered in stickers that practically screamed Patton. Roman loved it, and it always seemed to make him feel more relaxed whenever he looked at it. 

He flinched as Deceit knocked, bringing him back from his thoughts. The door creaked open ominously, and it slowly revealed a sick-looking Patton.

The side had large bags under his eyes, that could almost rival Virgil’s. And the rest of his face was a sickly pale, hair greasy and tangled as if he hadn’t combed it in days. The rest of his body was hidden under one of his quilts. Roman rushed in, concern gripping at his heart and squeezing painfully. 

“Patton! What happened?” Roman asked in a rush, taking the side in his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Of course he’s not okay,” Deceit said, following Roman inside and looking surprisingly concerned. “All of Thomas’ emotions are negatively affecting him.”

“What’s Deceit doing here?” Patton mumbled, staring blankly at the deceitful side from behind his glasses.

“He wants to help Thomas get better,” Roman explained, brushing Patton’s hair back as a wave of protectiveness hit him. “He was right when he said that this would corrupt us. Just look at you!”

“I’ll be fine, Ro,” Patton attempted to reassure, but it only made Roman feel worse. “Are you sure that Deceit wants to help us?”

“I’m sure,” Roman nodded, thinking back to Deceit’s points. He watched as Deceit held out his hand again. Patton eyed it for a second, turning his gaze towards Roman’s encouraging one before shaking it.

“Now,” Deceit clapped his hands together, a small smile gracing his features. “We must go tell the others.”

“Logan and Virgil?” Roman asked absentmindedly, still fussing over Patton.

“They... didn’t cooperate,” Deceit frowned, regret flashing across his eyes and Roman froze.

“Cooperate?” Patton asked, worry dripping off his voice. 

“Virgil, sadly, couldn’t see how I could ever want to ‘help’ Thomas,” Deceit sighed, and Roman could actually see that happening. He remembered back to the callback, recalling Virgil arguing with Deceit as much as he could. “Logan, was too far gone, couldn’t think straight.”

“What do you mean, ‘too far gone’?” Roman asked, gut clenching and heart stopping.

“Logan was already corrupted when I got to him. He got... angry,” Deceit murmured darkly, holding out his arm and pushing the sleeve up to reveal a bandage wrapped tightly around it. “I tried, but in the end I had to lock him away.”

Roman and Patton were silent, grief stifling the room. It seemed that a weight was added to Roman’s shoulders, making him slump. Despite all of his attempts to help Thomas, none of them worked, and now Logan was gone. He was supposed to protect everyone. How could he lose Logan so quickly, without even knowing?

“S-so by ‘the others’,” Patton finally broke the silence that was wrapped around them. “You mean, the other Dark Sides?”

“Yes,” Deceit replied, eyes flashing with an unknown emotion. “And once we can convince them all, we can finally help Thomas.”

Roman nodded solemnly, eyes narrowing with determination. He would help Thomas get better, and hopefully bring Logan back. And maybe, with everyone united, things will be much much better than ever before. He knew it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you guys trust Deceit? 
> 
>  
> 
> I think I can guess everyone’s answer :)


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s an understandable reaction, Virgil,” Logan responded absentmindedly. “No need to apologize.”
> 
> “But I do need to apologize,” Virgil breathed out, focusing on the heartbeat for a minute before continuing. “It’s my fault that Deceit is doing whatever he’s doing. It’s all my fault.”

“We have to get out of here,” Virgil breathed out, immediately standing up, only to hit his head on the ceiling. 

He shook away the pain, slamming himself against the door as his heartbeat became unbearably quick, pounding in his ears. Panic coursed through his veins, adrenaline somehow giving him strength that he never knew he had. 

“Virgil!”

He clawed at the door, splinters digging into his fingers, causing beads of blood to drop to the floor. He didn’t even register the pain, panic eating away at his every thought, choking him. And he couldn’t breathe or think because everything seemed to be screaming at him to escape. Escape escape escape.

“Virgil you need to calm down. You’re hurting yourself!”

Was the room getting smaller? He swore that he could feel the walls creeping in, and his desperation to escape only grew. The normally freezing room grew hot, but he tried to ignore the sweat beading on his neck. He had to escape. He had to protect Thomas.

“STOP!”

Suddenly his wrists were being held in a bone crushing grip, and his mind screamed for Logan to LET GO! He had to protect Thomas. He had to. He had to. 

Everything seemed to cave in, everything was too close. Too hot. And he couldn’t breathe. There was no air. He was going to die here. He was going to fail Thomas. 

“Virgil you need to breathe.”

He can’t. He can’t. He can’t, he can’t hecan’t hecan’t—

“Yes you can, in for 4.”

Virgil desperately tried to drag air into his lungs but it felt like something was lodged in his throat, and not even a single wisp of air could get past. He couldn’t do it.

“C’mon Virgil, you have to. I know you can do it. In for 4.”

He tried. He’s trying. He swears he’s trying. Why can’t he breathe? And something managed to make it past the rock lodged in his throat. It came out as a broken, ugly sob, and he desperately tried to pull his hands out of the tight grip, wanting to tear his eyes out. And suddenly everything was becoming fuzzy, heartbeat becoming louder and louder each second until it was all he could hear.

“Virgil, stay with me, you can’t pass out now.”

And suddenly he was being pulled against something soft, and firm. And was he on the floor? When had he gotten down here? But he still couldn’t breathe. And the hands around his wrists let go and one wrapped itself around his back, tightening on his shirt, while the over pushed his head further into the fabric. And everything was too much. And now he couldn’t tell if the sound he was hearing was his heartbeat or screams. He just knew it was loud, and he needed to escape—

‘Thump’

What was that? The sound somehow broke through the roaring, and it seemed to echo across the whole closet, reverberating throughout his mind. 

‘Thump’

Virgil listened, desperately holding on to the one hope he had at stability. 

‘Thump’

And his breaths began to slow, unconsciously trying to match the rhythmic sound. It was soft, yet strong, and steady.

‘Thump’

Why was there a hand in his hair? It felt nice, calming. Circles massaged into his head, soft scratches. And maybe he could also focus on that. 

‘Thump’

And the fabric he was slumped against was scratchy. And the floor was cold. And the hand on his back was solid, kneading circles across his shoulder blades, which he gratefully sunk into.

‘Thump’

And everything slowed. There was nothing screaming at him. He was okay. His breaths hitched every couple seconds, and his eyes drooped with exhaustion, and his hands stung with splinters, but he was okay.

“Are you okay, Virgil?” Logan’s voice rumbled through his chest, sending vibrations across his cheek. The steady thumping of his heart never ceased, which Virgil was grateful for.

“I-I think so,” he managed to stutter out, too tired to move away.

“Let me see your hands,” Logan said ever-so-gently, and Virgil found himself bringing his stinging hands up so the other side could examine them.

He flinched as Logan slid a finger lightly across one of the larger splinters, causing a spike of pain to shoot down his hand. It was too dark to see where they all were, so this was the way it had to be. Light touches, and quick tugs that caused Virgil to flinch every time.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil mumbled out, head still resting against Logan’s chest. He felt the hands freeze before resuming their inspection. “I shouldn’t have freaked out like that.”

“It’s an understandable reaction, Virgil,” Logan responded absentmindedly. “No need to apologize.”

“But I do need to apologize,” Virgil breathed out, focusing on the heartbeat for a minute before continuing. “It’s my fault that Deceit is doing whatever he’s doing. It’s all my fault.”

“None of this is your fault,” Logan’s voice hardened. “You never could’ve known that Deceit would do this.”

“But I should’ve known,” Virgil whispered, guilt creeping into his tone. “I should’ve known he would become so bitter after what I did.”

Logan was silent, so Virgil took a deep breath before continuing.

“Deceit was... like a brother to me,” Virgil sighed, eyes burning with renewed sadness. “All we had was each other when we were still with the other... ‘Dark Sides’. The other two were, dangerous,” He shuddered. “Sometimes they’d get loud, or find some messed up way to get us to do exactly what they wanted.”

At this point Logan had gotten all the splinters out, and returned a hand to Virgil’s hair in a comforting manner.

“Then we had a fight,” his voice grew dark, a slight distortion at the last word. “He hurt Thomas, and I couldn’t handle his mistake. So, I left. I never said goodbye to him. I left him in the hands of those... monsters. I left him for all of you, because I hoped that if I escaped them, I could become a better side for Thomas.”

He blinked, one tear slipping past and slowly dripping down his face. Logan was silent for a moment before responding.

“You were right to leave,” Logan tested. “If anyone is ever put in a situation of dominance like that, they should leave. Maybe you did leave Deceit, and who knows what terrible things happened to him. But, if he was like a brother to you, like you said, he would understand why you left. He would be so grateful that you managed to escape. But, instead he harbored his anger, and turned it into something ugly and horrible. It’s not your fault, Virgil.”

“I-I should’ve done something,” Virgil’s voice broke, more tears sliding down his face. “I should’ve gone back for him. He wasn’t bad. He was never bad.”

Logan softly shushed him as he continued to babble, lone tears turning into an outright sob, because— he was so disappointed with himself. The thought made him feel so disgusted with himself, and he felt terrible because if he was put in the situation again, he knew he would leave again. Because that’s what he’s always done. Run.

That only caused him to cry more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil didn’t know when he had fallen asleep. But exhaustion had creeped up on him sometime in the middle of him calming down from his crying. Logan held him the whole time, whispering soft reassurances into his ear.

He woke up with a stiff neck, still resting on Logan’s chest, which still had the same steady thrum. The hand in his hair had stopped it’s movements, but never left, remaining as a comforting touch.

Virgil twitched his hands, wincing at the sharp pain that seared across his fingers. He could feel the dried blood that had been dripping out of the cuts, and he cringed, glad that he couldn’t see it.

Now that he was better rested, he certainly did have a clearer mind. And now, he had to figure out a plan. Being locked in Deceit’s room was obviously bad. His energy slowly depleted each day, the longer he spent in here. He was only wasting the remaining trying to escape. Virgil knew that it was impossible. And, with Deceit’s plan going into action, he probably wasn’t going to be visiting them anytime soon.

All he could do was wait.

There was absolutely nothing he nor Logan could do to help.

All he could do was hope that Roman and Patton were smart enough to avoid Deceit’s tricks.

All he could do was hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOp—
> 
> That was abrupt 
> 
> Sorry that the ending felt rushed
> 
> I’m writing this at 1 AM because I’m sad like that :,)
> 
> I couldn’t resist giving Deceit a more likable backstory because I really like his character ._.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He immediately knew who’s room it was, and quickly regretted following Deceit here. He was already in the process of turning away when Deceit grabbed his arm, and knocked with his other hand.
> 
> The door immediately swung open, revealing none other than—
> 
> “Brother!” Roman groaned at the sound of Remus’ voice, that seemed to grate at his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I haven’t uploaded this week! I’ve been pretty busy lately, and procrastinating, and binge watching Stranger Things 3 times in a row
> 
> But uh... hopefully it’s a normal schedule now! :D

They had been traipsing through the subconscious for what seemed like forever. The only reason Roman has agreed to go this way was because Deceit knew where he was going. The subconscious was the only way to get to the dark side of Thomas’ mind, but it was extremely easy to get lost. The subconscious wasn’t a maze in that sense, but completely empty. A dull gray that stretched on for ages until it faded into white, almost like fog.

Roman of course, put on a brave face and decided to trust Deceit. He kept the side in his line of vision the whole trip, whilst holding Patton’s hand to make sure no one would get lost. Patton was currently trudging behind Roman, hair still a mess, and quilt still strung over his shoulders.

Roman was surprised at how quickly Deceit had wanted to leave, not even giving them time to reorient themselves. No time to process the bomb that Deceit had dropped on them. It seemed impossible to accept that Logan was gone. And he didn’t know what happened to Virgil, but he must’ve ducked out and locked himself in his room after passing Deceit’s offer.

That, Roman couldn’t understand. He knew that Virgil didn’t like Deceit, but was he really so blind to reject Deceit when he had been so desperate? Thomas was being destroyed, and Virgil didn’t even care. 

It sparked an angry flame in him, burning through his veins. Roman had to protect Thomas, he had to. Was he being desperate by running to the Dark Sides? Was Virgil right not to trust Deceit? But, if Thomas kept going down the path he was going down, everyone would become corrupted. Deceit was also desperate for help.

Roman shook the thoughts away. He had to focus on what was happening now. He made his choice, and he had to stick with it. Roman couldn’t let Virgil sway his thoughts so easily.

“We’re here,” Deceit said, and Roman glanced up to see a black door. It stood in the middle of the subconscious, black shadows seemed to seep through the crack under the door. It practically screamed, ‘don’t go in here!’.

“I-I’m not feeling too well, kiddos,” Patton frowned, letting go of Roman’s hand. “I think I’m just gonna sit out here and wait for you guys to come back out.”

“Are you sure, Pat?” Roman asked, heart clenching with worry. He didn’t want Patton to get lost out here, all alone.

“I’ll be fine, Ro,” Patton reassured, sitting cross-legged on the ground with the quilt pooling around his frail frame. Roman glanced at Deceit, seeing the side’s eyes spark with suspicion.

“You could get easily lost, it would be easier to just come with us,” Deceit said gently, and Roman felt a wave of protectiveness flare up in his chest.

“It’s alright, Deceit,” Roman faced the side, unconsciously standing in front of Patton. “He’ll stay in the same spot. He’s just a little tired.”

Deceit glanced from Patton to Roman, mouth twitching into a frown. He finally sighed.

“Okay,” He groaned, then waved a yellow-gloved hand at Patton. “You better not get lost. Thomas would be useless without you here.”

Patton only nodded, smiling reassuringly. Deceit turned towards the black door, twisting the knob, creaking it open. Unease whirled around his stomach, causing his gut to clench. Roman etched his way closer to Deceit, as if the side would protect him from whatever monster lay in the darkness.

Roman stepped into the Dark Sides’ lair, and his eyes attempted to adjust to the darkness, but failed. He heard rustling beside him and light suddenly flooded his vision, causing him to wince. He blinked his stinging eyes open, then scoffed at the sight of the place.

It was oddly... normal. 

The prince had always imagined dark halls, spiderwebs, flickering lights. But, it almost looked exactly like the Mind Palace, albeit slightly smaller, a little dimmer. There was a leather couch sitting in front of a television, and a kitchen to the left, a staircase leading up to who-knows-where.

But despite the normalcy of all of it, it was still somehow eerie—the simplicity of it all. The walls were blank, not a single photo hung up, unlike the Mind Palace. There weren’t any shelves that held books or other trinkets, and the kitchen’s counters were devoid of anything but an empty basket and a toaster.

Roman jolted as Deceit shuffled past him, a sigh making its way past his lips. He studied the dark side, noting the unexpected tension coiled around him. Roman would’ve expected the side to feel right at home, but he seemed more nervous than ever. Then a thought entered his mind.

“You did, tell the others about your plan, right?” Roman asked slowly, following Deceit deeper into the home. 

“Of course I told them,” Deceit snapped in a sarcastic tone, causing Roman to frown. “No, Roman, I did not tell the others.”

“Why not?” Roman immediately questioned, worry lingering in his tone. 

“It wouldn’t make a difference,” Deceit grunted. “They would laugh in my face and tell me to stop dreaming.”

Roman didn’t have much to say to that. It made him sad to think about their lack of faith in each other. Him and the others were always close, and they always had that sense of security and safety when they were together. Here it seemed like there was nothing holding them together. Strangers living in the same home.

Before Roman knew it, he was standing in front of a door. It had several cracks in it, and some acrid smell reeked from the room. He immediately knew who’s room it was, and quickly regretted following Deceit here. He was already in the process of turning away when Deceit grabbed his arm, and knocked with his other hand.

The door immediately swung open, revealing none other than—

“Brother!” Roman groaned at the sound of Remus’ voice, that seemed to grate at his ears. “What a pleasant surprise! I would’ve gotten ready if I had known you were coming to visit.”

“Hello, Remus,” Roman turned back around to face his brother, who had that annoying smile spread across his whole stupid face, and he just wanted to tear it clean off. 

“I brought, Roman here,” Deceit gestured with one of his hands towards the prince. “-over because he agreed to work with us to help Thomas.”

“Oh—“

“No, just don’t speak,” Deceit mimed sipping his lips shut, already looking exasperated with Remus. “Nod if you understand.”

And his brother surprisingly nodded, not speaking a word, but still had that grin plastered on his face.

“Okay,” Deceit said slowly, interlocking his hands. “So you understand that you have to work with him. That we all need to work together here.”

Another nod, and that weird blink he does.

“Great,” Deceit exclaimed, turning away. “Only one more side to convince and we’re done.”

Roman turned to follow, and he heard Remus chuckle darkly behind him.

“Oh this is going to be fun,” His brother practically hissed out, and Roman noticed Deceit tense in front of him. The door shut softly, but the sound seemed to echo throughout the empty house.

“What was that?” Roman asked, quickening his pace to catch up to Deceit. He side-glanced the dark side, noting his hard gaze and tense jaw. 

“The next side may not be so easy to convince,” Deceit growled darkly, eyes narrowing to slits. Chills crept up Roman’s spine, making his throat go dry. Something in Deceit’s expression caused his heart to quicken with fear.

Deceit stopped abruptly in front of an old and worn out door. It looked like it used to be painted red, but almost all of it had chipped off, revealing the dark brown wood underneath. Roman could sense the shift of unease in Deceit, and he tensed, preparing for the worst as Deceit’s knuckles rapped across the wood.

The door creaked open, revealing the person on the other side. Obviously, he looked like Thomas, but his left eye was a startlingly shade of orange. Part of the left side of his face seemed slightly burnt, skin torn and pink. He wore a dark gray trench coat, and black high-top boots. His eyes held some type of cold fury, that tore into your mind, taking apart every thought, every fear. 

“Wrath,” Deceit rasped out darkly, a new hint of fear gracing his eyes for a second before disappearing behind a blank stare. 

“What do you have to share this time, Snake?” Wrath hissed out in a voice that sent goosebumps racing across Roman’s skin. “Looks like you brought someone with you.”

The sharp gaze landed on Roman, and he unconsciously shrunk back, only for Wrath to grip his chin, bringing him forward. The side inspected him, orange eye burning a hole through Roman. He seemed to forget how to breathe for a second.

“Well?” Both Roman and Deceit flinched at the sharpness of Wrath’s voice. He flitted his gaze from Roman to Deceit. “I asked you a question.”

Wrath let go of Roman’s chin, and he rubbed it, wincing as he felt the crescent-shaped marks he had left.

“C-Creativity and Morality have agreed to help us fix Thomas,” Deceit stuttered out, before clearing his throat and standing up straighter, putting on a smirk. “My idea is working.”

“Well then,” Wrath crept towards Deceit, but the latter only narrowed his eyes, shoulders tensing. “Where is Morality?”

“Thomas’ negative emotions has affected him and he’s resting just outside the entrance,” Deceit reported, meeting Wrath’s gaze.

They seemed to be having a stand off, waiting for the other to back down. Roman frowned, glancing between the two uneasily. 

In what seemed like years, a sharp grin grew on Wrath’s face. It wasn’t joyous, or excited, but feral and crazed, and Roman’s breath stuttered in his chest.

“Good job, my dear,” Wrath practically purred and Deceit looked sickeningly proud of himself. “We have no time to waste. Grab Remus and bring me to the Mind Palace.”

Roman felt a great sense of foreboding weighing heavily on his shoulders. As much as he despised having to work with a toxic side like this, he knew that in the end, it would help Thomas. And he could suffer through working with Wrath if it meant Thomas would be safe.

Roman would do anything for Thomas to be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOP—
> 
> This is definitely going to end well :)


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I-I’m sorry, I was being stupid. I-I swear I didn’t m-mean,” Deceit choked out in a mess of stutters and gasping, more tears sliding down his face. Virgil shushed him gently, moving until the sides’ head was in his lap. 
> 
> “Hey, it’s okay,” Virgil reassured, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice because he had HIT Deceit. He would always scream and push but the idea of him hitting another side caused his own breath to catch in his throat. “You did nothing wrong. It’s okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are mistakes, I just really wanted to get this out of you guys before school started tomorrow! I apologize again for not updating in so long! Life has been hectic, and I can’t promise any regular updates with school starting up again. I’ll try as hard as I can! :)
> 
> Warnings for chapter: Internal homophobia, abuse

The hallway was dark, shadows tugging at his clothes, causing his heart to thump uncomfortably against his chest. Burying himself deeper into his hoodie, he tensed as he turned the corner, hoping that nothing was going to leap out at him.

The teenager let out a barely audible sigh of relief as he turned the corner and found nothing. He made haste to pick up speed, wincing every time his feet hit the ground just slightly too loud. The sound of shoes hitting wooden floors causing echos throughout the hall that seemed to reverberate through his entire body.

He finally managed to make it to the door, relief flooding through him so fast he nearly choked on his own breath. But his victory was put to an abrupt stop as he heard soft sobs coming from the room, and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. The side quickly twisted the door open, hearing the sobs become stifled as if they had put a hand over their mouth. He rushed to reassure the other side.

“It’s okay, D-Dee, it’s just me,” He whispered gently, softly closing the door behind him as he took a step forward.

The room was mostly bare, with a bed and a side table with a softly lit lamp sitting on top. He shifted his eyes to the lump of blankets on the bed, and quickly latched onto Deceit’s mismatched eyes that were glazed over with tears.

“V-Virgil?” Deceit asked in such a fearful voice that if Virgil hadn’t seen the side, he would’ve never guessed it was him to have said it. The usual sarcastic and witty side seemed broken, barely holding on to reality.

“Yeah,” Virgil breathed out as he slowly sat on the bed’s edge, reaching out a hand and carefully brushing back Deceit’s hair. He let out a smile as the side leaned into his touch, but immediately frowned as he noticed the ugly bruise on his cheek. “What did he do to you?”

“I-I’m sorry, I was being stupid. I-I swear I didn’t m-mean,” Deceit choked out in a mess of stutters and gasping, more tears sliding down his face. Virgil shushed him gently, moving until the sides’ head was in his lap. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Virgil reassured, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice because he had HIT Deceit. He would always scream and push but the idea of him hitting another side caused his own breath to catch in his throat. “You did nothing wrong. It’s okay.”

“I-I didn’t think that he would hit me,” Deceit shook beneath his hand. “So I kept pushing and pushing, I s-shouldn’t have—“

“Deep breaths, Dee,” Virgil murmured, recalling the words that Deceit had spoken to him when he was in the middle of a panic attack after a long series of shouting. “Wrath sucks, and we can’t do anything about it. But I promise that I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

“Promise?” Came a broken whisper, full of misguided hope and wishes.

“Promise,” Virgil repeated in a stronger tone. “Whenever anything bad happens, you come to me.”

“Okay,” Deceit nodded, melting further into Virgil’s comforting hold as the emotional exhaustion began catching up to him. Virgil let out a sigh, falling back and allowing himself to close his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow had not been a better day, nor the day after that, or the day after that. Wrath seemed to get angrier every second that Virgil and Deceit allowed themselves to be subjected to his abuse. Of course, it’s not as if they wanted to be thrown around like toys, and pushed aside like trash. They were terrified. So, so scared of the side, the way he could tower over them, as if prying into their minds. 

The Duke was the only side that didn’t seem affected by Wrath. No matter what the side had thrown his way, it had been brushed aside with a hysterical laugh, edging on insane. But, that was Remus for you. Wrath had given up on trying to intimidate the side and instead opted to ignore him.

With Remus constantly spouting out horrible thoughts, and Wrath toying with them constantly, Deceit was his only constant. His only friend, his brother. Then came the fight.

It was a normal day, and Thomas had left for school. Virgil couldn’t quite remember his age. But maybe that didn’t matter, maybe the thoughts were always in his mind. Thomas had tripped in the hall while rushing to class, and one boy quickly came to help. 

One glance at the boy’s freckled face, bright blue eyes that Thomas wanted to stare into forever. The boy had brushed his brown bangs back, a bright smile on his face. He was cute. 

The thought cut through Virgil like a knife, because he couldn’t think that. He just couldn’t. It wasn’t aloud. Thomas couldn’t like guys, that was bad. He would get in trouble. He would lose his fiends and family, and everyone would hate him, leave him.

Virgil had rushed to Deceit’s room, only to stumble into him in the kitchen. He was surprised to see the side seem so uncaring of the thoughts that had been racing in Thomas’ mind. And Deceit took one look at him, immediately noticing his panic.

“Y-you need-you need to stop Thomas,” Virgil choked out, feeling his heart squeeze with anxiety. “He-he can’t, he-“

“What do you mean?” Deceit asked with a raised brow, an excited smile growing. “This is great! Thomas finally has a crush and it’s a handsome and kind guy!”

“Yeah, a guy!” Virgil nearly shouted, uncaring if Wrath heard. “Do you know what would happen to him if anyone found out? You need to keep those thoughts away, and help Thomas lie.”

“But, that would be hurting him,” Deceit frowned, narrowing his eyes accusingly at Virgil. “I wouldn’t ever lie like that.”

“But that’s what you do!” He shot back, curling his hands into fists to stop them from shaking. He heard footsteps coming down the hall.

“That’s not-“ Deceit recoiled, hurt flashing across his eyes, but Virgil couldn’t find it in himself to feel guilty. “You know that I’m not just Deceit. I am Thomas’ self-preservation, and I know that hiding these feeling would make everything worse for him.”

“If anyone finds out, he’ll be shunned, his life will be terrible!” Virgil’s voice rose and he shook, dread creeping up inside him. “You have to do this Deceit.”

“Anxiety.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Deceit hissed out, he jabbed a finger into Virgil’s chest. “You may think what you’re doing is right, but in the end, you’ll always be Anxiety. You’ll always end up hurting him.”

“Deceit.”

Fire courses through his veins at those words, coiling around his heart and turning his vision red. How dare Deceit say that? After all they went through? That was a new level of low he didn’t think was possible for the snake.

“Take it back,” Virgil growled out darkly, fists shaking.

“I don’t think I will,” Deceit hissed back, a cocky smile making its way onto his face.

Virgil didn’t even register what he did. He felt the red hot flames consume his every thought and lashed out. A smack followed, and Deceit stumbled to the ground, eyes widening. Virgil dragged in ragged breaths.

Before he knew what was happening, Deceit rushed to his feet, pushing Virgil to the ground. His side slammed painfully into the concrete floor, and he vision swam. The fire roared again, and he swung at the side, hearing a satisfying hit.

Then he was torn away, arms flailing as he hissed at Deceit, who had stayed panting on the ground.

“You two are acting like children,” Wrath seethed into his ears, slamming Virgil against the wall painfully and kicking him roughly in the chest. Virgil felt all air rush out of his lungs, and he gasped for precious oxygen, forgetting his anger as it was replaced with chilling fear. Wrath slapped his cheek harshly, leaving a stinging hot red handprint behind, and he knew that it would bruise.

Wrath turned towards Deceit, giving him the same treatment before gripping him by the front of his shirt and throwing him harshly next to Virgil.

“This petty fight you both are having won’t get you anywhere,” Wrath stared down at the cowering sides, Virgil shook uncontrollably. “You two will come to my room in exactly 15 minutes, where you will be getting your real punishment. Then we will talk about what we are doing about Thomas.”

Virgil swallowed roughly, watching Wrath disappear around the corner. He heaved himself up, ignoring the ache in his chest and the stinging in his face. He actively ignored Deceit’s labored breathing, and stumbled back to his room.

That was it.

He needed to leave.

So he did.

Virgil didn’t bother bringing anything with him, just wanting to get away as fast as possible. He passed by Deceit’s room on his way out and hesitated. But, Deceit’s harsh words filtered through his mind and he shook his head. If Deceit truly thought that Virgil would only hurt Thomas, then he didn’t deserve his help.

And so, he walked away. Closing the door to the Dark Sides’ realm as softly as possible. He stared out into the grey subconscious, taking in a deep breath, and took a step. He didn’t look back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil didn’t know how long he had been walking for. Maybe there wasn’t anything. Maybe he was just going to be walking forever, and lose himself to the void. No one would ever know he would be gone. He wondered if a side could even die. What would that do to Thomas? Surely him disappearing wouldn’t hurt Thomas in any way.

Then, laughter.

It echoed through the emptiness, and up ahead Virgil noticed the grey slowly turning to white, and he noticed three dark figures ahead. He quickly made his way over, then stood awkwardly to the side until they noticed him.

Two of them were fighting with sharp swords, the sound of them clashing echoed across the space. But anytime the swords would come to contact with the opponent, it simply went through. The last figure was standing to the side, a book in hand as he glanced up at the two every now and then. 

The latter looked up, locking eyes with Virgil. His eyes widened with surprise and he quickly made his way to the others. The two fighters broke a part, and one looked at him with a large smile, approaching the darker side.

“Hello! I’m Patton,” Exclaimed one of the teens wearing thick glasses with a cardigan wrapped around his neck. “You must be new here. What’s your name?”

“V-“ He paused, dread washing over him at the idea of trusting these strangers with his name. “My name is Anxiety.”

“Anxiety?” The side that held a shining sword at his side and wore a bright red sash glared at him. “I don’t even understand why you’re here then, because we are sides that help Thomas.”

“Roman, please try to be kind to him,” The last side grumbled out. 

“Yeah, listen to Logan!” Patton exclaimed, and Virgil thought he seemed nice. “How would you like it if you first formed only to have everyone be rude to you.”

Logan glanced skeptically at Virgil, and for a second he thought that he knew. But he couldn’t know. If he knew then he would surely kick him out and then where would he go? He would waste away alone and he would fail Thomas. If Logan knew, he would tell Patton and Roman. He couldn’t allow that. 

His spiraling thoughts were cut off as Roman sighed, sending one more sharp glare at Virgil, and turning away to swing his sword at some imaginary being.

“I’ll show you around the Mind Palace,” Logan said, turning towards Virgil again. It sounded like a statement, but the raise in his brow made it seem more like a question. “I’m not playing with Roman and Patton anyways,” he elaborated.

“Sure,” Virgil replied cautiously. He shot one last glance at the other two sides before following Logan. This was his new life. And he somehow knew that things could only get better from here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil sighed, laying his head on Logan’s shoulder as the darkness surrounded them like a blanket. He fidgeted anxiously with the hem of his jacket that Logan was currently wearing. 

It seemed like that was all he could do in the closet. It was either talking to Logan, or sitting in the darkness. And at this point he was just as bored as he was anxious. Almost all of his memories were back by this point, and it left a bitter anger simmering inside of him. He guessed that Deceit had disguised as Patton that fateful night and had put some kind of drugs in the cookies. 

Virgil narrowed his eyes and sighed, frustrated with himself. He should’ve known Deceit’s tricks by now. He shouldn’t have fallen for whatever ‘disguise’ he was in because Virgil knew Patton. He knew Patton for so long, and Deceit somehow managed to trick him.

“Virgil, I can hear you gritting your teeth,” Logan started blandly besides him, causing him to flinch. “What’s going on?”

“I guess I’m just, angry,” Virgil blew out a breath, trying not to yell at Logan. That’s the last thing he wanted to do. “I was so stupid.”

“You weren’t stupid, Virgil,” Logan responded, always placating him. And it wasn’t even like Virgil could argue against him because he was stating facts, that was just what Logic did. “You were in a vulnerable position and Deceit took that moment to strike. He’s a trickster, so of course anyone would land in his trap.”

“Did I ever thank you for being such a good therapist?” Virgil asked jokingly, but he knew that Logan would catch on to his sincerity.

“No I don’t think you did,” Logan replied, and Virgil grinned. “I don’t know why you would thank me for something I’m not.” 

“You really got to stop taking me so seriously,” Virgil snorted, allowing himself to relax against the side. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the door flying open.

Virgil flinched back, preparing himself for another one of Deceit’s monologues, but as his eyes adjusted, he noticed how different the silhouette was. Instead of the tall, slim figure with the signature bowler hat, it was a slumped shadow with messy hair. He barely got a word out before being slammed into the wall, arms wrapped tightly around him.

“Virgil! Logan!” The familiar voice of Patton rang out and Virgil felt a smile grow on his face. “I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere!”

“H-how did you get in here?” Virgil managed to get out from underneath Patton. “How did you make it into the dark side realm? Into Deceit’s room?”

“He brought us here!” Patton exclaimed, finally clambering off him, then immediately hugging Logan.

“‘Us’?” Logan asked, looking slightly annoyed at the side, but not moving away.

“Deceit made some deal with me and Roman and brought us here to talk with the others,” Patton said, then shot up in a panic. “And who knows when they’ll be done! We should probably get you guys out soon before they see that I’m gone!”

“How did you even-?” Virgil stopped himself and sighed, questions later he supposed.

“Lead the way,” Logan motioned, and shakily stood up, holding a hand out to Virgil. He took the hand, standing up on his cramped legs and groaning. 

“Do you guys need help?” Patton asked worriedly, and Virgil could finally see his sickly features. He winced, but he had to question later. “You guys were in there for a while.”

“We’ll be fine, Patton.” Logan reassured, standing up straight for the first time in forever. “We have more pressing matters at the moment.”

Patton only nodded, and Virgil walking as fast as he could, stumbling a couple times. He tried not to stare too long into the room, scared of seeing something that could trigger any memory that he hid in the deepest parts of his mind.

The trio made it out of Deceit’s room, and this time Virgil didn’t hesitate. He steadily made his way towards the exit, eyes narrowed in determination. It was time he left this place for good.

“You kiddos will have to make it back to the Mind Palace without me,” Patton said, turning to face the two as they stood at the exit. “Deceit can’t know I left, it’ll buy you guys some more time. Hopefully we can figure this all out together before Deceit notices that you two are gone.”

“Thank you, Patton,” Logan said, smiling softly at the sickly side. He pulled him into a quick hug before turning to the door.

“Please be careful,” Virgil said as he made it to Patton. He also pulled him into a hug, this one lasting slightly longer than Logan’s did. “Thanks, Padre.”

Virgil followed Logan out the door, and he stared into the grey subconscious, took a deep breath, and began his trek. He never looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp there it is! I hope I gave you guys what you wanted! 
> 
>  
> 
> I’m gonna try really hard to try and get a chapter out this week, but no promises!


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m so glad to know you were thinking of me,” Roman replied dryly. “The Mind Palace, for your information, is much better and... friendlier than where you are living. Well, your place isn’t too bad,” Remus snorted, “okay, well it’s decent. I would recommend jazzing it up a little! Maybe some photos here and there...? Maybe clean off the spider webs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahaaaaa... I can explain
> 
> Oh heck
> 
> Soooo I’ve been really busy with school, but I can’t really blame that whole hiatus in that. I’ve just had a huge writer’s block and I can’t seem to write anything. I literally started writing this a month ago and just finished last night
> 
> So I’m very sorry, and I’m more sorry to say that the updating schedule still won’t be very great
> 
> But I’ll try!

Roman quickly found out that there was a system here. It wasn’t anything huge that pointed it out, just small tidbits that all added up. 

Wrath was the obvious leader, for whatever reason. He seemed to have Deceit under his control and Roman couldn’t figure out how. Well, he had a couple ideas, but he didn’t want to delve into that dark pit. Wrath was also cocky, but smart which made him dangerous.

Deceit was... somewhere in the chain. Roman would’ve guessed he would’ve been in the higher-ups due to his usual confidence, but he seemed to be following everything Wrath had ordered. It was weird seeing him act so skittish, always faltering slightly whenever Wrath would slow in his step. It was unsettling.

Remus just seemed to be annoying. But why wouldn’t he? Roman didn’t expect much from his brother, who was now skipping alongside of the prince with a content smile. He was humming some kind of song under his breath, and Roman was surprised he didn’t recognize it. His brother didn’t seem bothered by Deceit or Wrath, which was expected. He was always too chaotic to be kept down anyways. 

Roman watched as his brother randomly summoned a few blooded eyeballs and juggled them around as he skipped. He groaned in disgust, rolling his eyes and instead trying to focus on Deceit and Wrath, both in which walking slightly in front of him. He was so tempted to ask questions about them, but he managed to push his words down his throat for the sake of not getting (possibly) killed.

The small group made it to the door of the dark side realm, and Wrath swung it open. Roman rushed ahead slightly, worried about Patton. He blew out a sigh of relief when he found the side still sitting on the floor with the quilt strung over his shoulders. Roman held out a hand with a smile, which Patton gratefully took.

“Glad to see you, Ro!” Patton smiled, glasses askew on his pale face. “I was getting a little worried here, sitting all by my lonesome self.”

“Sorry for taking so long,” Roman apologized, then leaned in close enough so only Patton could hear. “Between you and me, it was a little tense in there.”

Worry flashed behind Patton’s eyes, but the side quickly shielded it as Wrath and his lackeys approached. The angry side held out his hand to shake.

“A pleasure meeting you,” he drawled, glancing Patton up and down. Roman shifted closer to his as he watched Pat shift nervously on his feet before accepting the hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Wrath.”

“Uh, I’m Morality, but you and call me your happy-pappy-Patton!” Patton introduced with a forced grin. “So you agreed to help Thomas?”

“Of course,” Wrath nodded, eyes sparkling. “He’s very unstable as of now, and we all need to do whatever to stop it. Even if I have to work with idiots like Deceit over there.” He finished with a growl and a disdainful look sent over his shoulder at the side. 

Roman frowned, watching Deceit eye the ground. Sure, Deceit could be mean sometimes, but it had been out of line to say that. Especially after Wrath had complimented him just minutes earlier. The way Wrath threw his words around without a care put a sour taste in Roman’s mouth. But he had to ignore it for now.

“I suggest we get going. We want to help Thomas as soon as possible,” Deceit spoke up, still keeping his eyes on the ground. Wrath seemed to grin with some kind of excitement, closing on malignant. 

“Of course, of course,” the side said, turning to the foggy stretch of grey. “Keep close now, I wouldn’t want any of you getting lost.”

Roman nodded, feeling Patton sidle up next to him and slide his fingers into Roman’s own. The prince squeezed his hand reassuringly, before taking the first few steps back home. Back to Thomas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trek was going slow, and unbearably awkward. At least for Roman. 

Wrath walked confidently, with his head held up high, but there was an invisible line of tension between him and Deceit. Deceit seemed to be getting back into his more snarky and confident disposition. He still walked a couple steps behind Wrath, but did so with a smirk on his face as if he was happy to be there. 

“So brother,” Remus exclaimed, bumping into Roman’s shoulder jarringly. He groaned, massaging his now injured shoulder. “How’s life at the Mind Palace? It’s been so boring and dreadful back home. I admit it, I did think of you once or twice. Whether or not it was with your head lodged onto my mace!”

Roman shuddered and rolled his eyes. Surprisingly, Remus was the second most chill side here, after Patton of course. He had been flaunting around, humming to himself. And occasionally summoning some... rather dark things. But Roman tried to ignore that part. Might as well make conversation anyways.

“I’m so glad to know you were thinking of me,” Roman replied dryly. “The Mind Palace, for your information, is much better and... friendlier than where you are living. Well, your place isn’t too bad,” Remus snorted, “okay, well it’s decent. I would recommend jazzing it up a little! Maybe some photos here and there...? Maybe clean off the spider webs.”

“The ones I spent so much time hanging up?” Remus exclaimed, looking fake-hurt, Roman found himself smiling. “I’m hurt that you would say that about my, oh-so-careful decorating.”

Roman chuckled, noticing the look of surprise sparkling in Remus’ eyes for just a second before he started laughing too. “I’m just thankful you didn’t paint the walls with bloodstains.”

“That’s a fantastic idea!” Remus clapped excitedly, which Roman stared at fondly. “I don’t think Deceit or Wrath would mind, anyways. Well, Wrath might throw a hissy fit, but that’s what makes it so fun!”

Roman smiled uneasily, concern pushing its way into his mind. Which is stupid because Remus could definitely take care of himself. He was about to open his mouth when he felt Patton tug gently on his hand, moving closer. 

“I’m glad you two kiddos are getting along,” Patton grinned, relief apparent in his voice. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised! Brothers look after each other after all. Even if they fight!”

Roman nearly stopped in his tracks, a bittersweet feeling sweeping him off the ground. He didn’t realize how much he had been enjoying Remus’ company. And who knows what would happen after all of this. Would his brother leave again? The thought stung. Yes, sometimes Remus could be a little overbearing but he was Roman’s other half. He didn’t want to be completely separated from him again.

Roman turned to glance at Remus, only to find the side already staring at him with the same look in his eyes. Remus surprisingly didn’t look away and act as if he hadn’t been staring, but only blew out a heavy sigh. He offered Roman a small, crooked grin, which Roman returned sadly. 

They just had to see what happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So this is the Mind Palace,” Wrath commented, eyeing the light side’s home with something close to disdain. He grinned, “How lovely.”

“Yeah, our connection to Thomas is much stronger when we’re here,” Roman explained. “It should be easier for you guys to contact him from here.”

“Well then, let’s get on with it,” The angry side drawled, sinking down. Deceit followed close behind, then Remus as he clapped with excitement.

Roman took a breath, squeezing Patton’s hand reassuringly. Something dreadful was welling up inside him, twisting his insides. If this didn’t work... he didn’t know what else to do. The absence of Logan and Virgil made him more scared than ever. But, he had to act brave. And hope that Thomas wouldn’t fall into insanity.

“It’s gonna be okay, kiddo,” Patton said softly, leaning into Roman. “I promise you, it’s gonna work out. I mean, you’re Thomas’ knight in shining armor! You’ll be his hero no matter what.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Roman choked out, hating the lump that had formed in his throat. He couldn’t explain how much those words met. His one goal, now and forever, was to help Thomas. Patton’s words sparked a small flicker of hope in the dreadful darkness. 

The two sunk out, with only each other to rely on for whatever would happen next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman rose up, immediately noticing Thomas in a curled up heap on his bed. Renewed worry slammed into him like a truck, nearly stealing his breath. Thomas looked sickly, pale, dark shadows under his eyes reminiscent to Virgil’s. He stared blankly at the wall, seemingly not comprehending any of the sides in his room.

Roman then noticed Wrath, Deceit, and Remus, scattered about the room. Remus looking mildly entertained, Deceit looking slightly worried, and Wrath with the sickly grin on his face. That made Roman scowl, scooting closer to Thomas. 

“What are you planning on doing, Wrath?” Roman asked, eyeing him uneasily. The side’s sharp eyes snapped over to him, eyebrows narrowing. 

“So now you are finally asking the star question!” Wrath chuckled, then stopping abruptly, sending goosebumps across Roman’s skin. Patton whimpered at his side. “You see, Roman,” Wrath rolled his eyes at his name, which— rude. “Thomas is weak. He’s in such a vulnerable spot. And I’m here to help him. To finally help him after years and years of being suppressed.”

“W-what?” Roman stuttered out, fear constructing his throat as Wrath took a couple steps closer. He very nearly summoned his saber, but something seemed to stop him. 

“You ‘light’ sides haven’t been helping Thomas,” Wrath growled. “You’ve been babying him. With me in control, I can finally give Thomas what he really needs. He needs sides that aren’t afraid to hurt others to get him what he wants,” he hissed, face only inches away from Roman’s. 

“But that’s not who Thomas is,” Roman growled out, eyes wide with surprise. Patton chimed in his agreement next to him. 

“Thomas is what I want him to be,” Wrath sneered, then suddenly backed away. He glanced at Deceit, then back to the two light sides with the glare. “And now you two, will do exactly the same.”

Before Roman could question what Wrath meant, Deceit had snapped his fingers. He felt like his whole body was sinking into itself, snapping like a puppet with strings. He receded into the far back corners of his mind, chained up. Locked away. Helpless. The prince tried to speak, but found that his mouth didn’t work, and neither did his limbs. It was as if he were trapped in his own body. 

Wrath’s sharp laugh was faint and garbled through his ears. Everything felt muffled. The side turned to Deceit and gave him an appraising look, in which the snake grinned at. Wrath then turned to look straight into Roman. 

“Now, you will do as I say,” Wrath chuckled, gripping Roman’s face which he couldn’t even shy away from. “No chance of messing this up. Deceit is such a smart little pet, don’t you think? I can’t believe you were both dumb enough to shake the hand of a liar. So, so desperate, weren’t you? But don’t worry. Thomas will be fine in no time.”

“Thomas will not be taking orders from you anytime soon,” a new voice chimed in, and Roman would’ve cried if he could. Logan and Virgil came into view, both looking a little worse for wear, but still glaring daggers at Deceit and Wrath. “I suggest you stand down, and we can talk about this like civilized people.”

“Deceit,” Wrath growled out dangerously, whipping around to face the liar. “I thought you had said you had Anxiety and Logic under control.”

“I-I swear I did,” Deceit stuttered slightly, eyes widening in disbelief. “I don’t know how—“ he cut himself off as his eyes landed on Patton with an air of realization. Roman could finally get a good look at the side, only to see Patton’s eyes glazed over with a sickly yellow glow. And he realized he probably looked like that himself. A puppet. 

“It’s over, Deceit,” Virgil nearly barked, rage practically coming off of him in waves. “Leave now, and you won’t get punished.”

“It’s funny,” Wrath started sarcastically. “You say that as if you could win against us! Don’t forget that it’s just you two now. Creativity and Mortality are mine. Remus and Deceit are mine. Thomas is mine for the taking.”

“Thomas can’t survive with only you,” Logan explained darkly. “The toll on his mind will be too great, and he’ll break down until even you won’t exist. He needs all of us, to be balanced. To be his true self.”

“I’m done talking,” Wrath scoffed, not perturbed by anything Logan had said. “Deceit, be a dear and let them loose.” Deceit didn’t move, eyes going back and forth between Wrath and Thomas. Roman felt a small spark of hope. “Deceit.” Wrath growled warningly. “Do you forget what they’ve done to us? What Anxiety did to you? He left you, and they all suppressed us until we were backed into the very corner of Thomas’ mind to be forgotten. This is the only way.”

Roman’s one spark of hope immediately died as Deceit’s gaze hardened with resolution. He felt his own body move forward, now facing Virgil and Logan. His friends. He couldn’t possibly attack them. The prince felt himself draw out his sword, dropping into a battle stance. 

He lunged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uH oH—
> 
> I almost didn’t add the Remus-Roman but I’m glad I did :)
> 
> Would you guys rather I make a wholesome ending that probably wouldn’t have a sequel, or a darker ending that I would try to write a sequel for? I have two endings in mind but they are drastically different.


End file.
